A former employee of the US state department has pleaded guilty after being accused of trading government information for gifts from Chinese agents, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday
The DoJ said Candace Marie Claiborne, who held various roles overseas and a top-secret clearance, hid “extensive contacts” with two agents from the Chinese government and the gifts she received in exchange for providing internal state department documents on US economic strategies and visits by dignitaries. Ms Claiborne confided to a co-conspirator that the Chinese agents were “spies”, according to the DoJ.
The foreign agents provided Ms Claiborne and a family member with tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and benefits over five years, US prosecutors said. The gifts included cash, international travel, fashion school tuition and a furnished apartment.