"Candace Marie Claiborne, a former employee of the US Department of State, was sentenced today to 40 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $40,000 for conspiracy to defraud the United States, by lying to law enforcement and background investigators, and hiding her extensive contacts with, and gifts from, agents of the People’s Republic of China, in exchange for providing them with internal documents from the US State Department", the release said on Tuesday.
According to plea documents, Claiborne provided Chinese intelligence agents with confidential documents on topics ranging from economics to diplomatic visits. Chinese agents allegedly provided Claiborne with thousands of dollars in gifts and benefits over the course of five years, the release added.
Claiborne began working as an Office Management Specialist for the State Department in 1999 before serving in overseas posts including in Beijing and Shanghai, the release noted.