A former US Navy sailor has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to pass secret information to individuals he believed were Russian spies. Robert Hoffman, 40, a former cryptologist technician on US submarines, was convicted in August last year and sentenced in a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia.
Prosecutors stated that Hoffman provided classified files about tracking ships to undercover agents posing as Russian intelligence officers. The sentencing was announced by acting assistant attorney general John Carlin, who said Hoffman had put US service members and the country at risk by attempting to hand over some of America's most closely held military secrets.
Hoffman was arrested in December 2012 and found guilty of attempted espionage. The case serves as a warning to others who might compromise national security, according to Carlin.
