A computer scientist who worked for a short time at the US spy agency, the NSA (National Security Agency), was sentenced on Monday to 21 years and 10 months in prison for handing over classified material to a person he believed to be a Russian special services agent. , the US Department of Justice announced.

Jara Sebastian Dalke, 32, pleaded guilty in October. He was facing six counts of attempting to disclose information related to national defense to an agent of a foreign state.

He worked for about a month at the NSA before suddenly resigning in June 2022, citing family issues.

During his time at the agency, he printed classified documents and, after he resigned, offered them for sale, via encrypted emails, to a person he thought was a Russian agent but was actually an undercover FBI agent, they said. the authorities. He was asking for $85,000 in return.

“This sentence shows that those who attempt to betray our country are paying for their crimes,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to a press release issued by his office.