A former top official at the Central Intelligence Agency has admitted in court that he broke the law by secretly working for foreign interests and mishandling sensitive government information. The man, now 68 years old and living in Miami, Florida, spent more than 30 years with the CIA. Even after retiring in 2014, he continued to work with the agency as a contractor, a role that allowed him to access highly sensitive government secrets.
With a high-level security clearance, he was trusted with important national information. But between 2017 and 2020, while still working with the CIA, he chose to misuse that trust. He secretly worked with a U.S. lobbying firm and took money from foreign clients.
These foreign clients wanted help influencing decisions in the United States and other countries. His job was to use his insider position to benefit them—something he never told the CIA or the U.S. government about, as the law requires.
The foreign clients he helped had serious problems. One was being investigated by a foreign government for stealing money. Another was connected to terrorism financing and wanted a visa to enter the U.S. The former CIA official used his position to try to interfere with both matters.
Breaking the Rules at the CIA
Instead of following the strict rules of national security, the former official used CIA resources for his private gain. He searched classified government systems for information that could help his clients. He also kept classified documents in places where they were not allowed to be, and he shared sensitive government information with people who were not approved to receive it.
He not only broke internal CIA rules but also lied to both the CIA and the FBI when they asked about his outside work. He claimed he was not acting on behalf of any foreign group. That was a lie. The law requires anyone working for a foreign government or entity to register with the U.S. government. He never did that, even though he was being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The CIA ended his contract in 2020 when the truth began to come out. But by then, much of the damage had already been done. The man had already used his access to secret information to help people who were not working in the best interest of the United States.
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Legal Action and What Comes Next
The former CIA official pleaded guilty to two serious crimes. The first was acting as a foreign agent while serving as a public official—something that is strictly against U.S. law. The second was removing and keeping classified information in places that were not approved, which is also a crime. He has agreed to give up $85,000, which was part of the money he earned from his secret work.
These crimes carry real consequences. He now faces up to seven years in prison—two years for secretly acting as a foreign agent, and five more years for mishandling classified material. He will learn how much time he will spend behind bars when he is sentenced on July 16.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It was handled by experts in national security and counterintelligence law, including attorneys from the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This case is one of the rare times a former high-ranking intelligence officer has been caught and admitted to such serious offenses. It highlights how dangerous it can be when trusted officials abuse their positions. The government has strict laws to prevent this kind of behavior—and in this case, those laws were broken in a major way.
