Navy intelligence specialist charged with attempted espionage
(CNN) — A Navy intelligence specialist was charged Thursday in an espionage sting in which he allegedly sold documents marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” to an undercover FBI agent, according to the Navy.
The charges against Spc. 2nd Class Bryan Minkyu Martinare are for attempting to forward classified information to a person not authorized to receive such information, according to the Navy statement.
A court-martial date has not been set.
Martin is charged with four specifications of attempted espionage and 11 specifications of mishandling classified information, the Navy said.
All charges stemmed from incidents that allegedly occurred while Martin was assigned to the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story in Virginia, the Navy said.
Martin was apprehended by special agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI on December 1, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after he was suspected of attempting to sell classified information.
Martin is currently being held in Naval Brig Norfolk in Virginia.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court last December, Martin, 22, met with an FBI undercover agent posing as an intelligence officer of an unnamed foreign country three times at a motel in Fayetteville, near the Fort Bragg Army base, where he had been working since September.
The court documents alleged he was paid a total of $3,500 in cash, and he handed over documents marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” and signed receipts for two of the payments.
“Investigators have a high level of confidence that no classified information was actually delivered to any unauthorized persons,” an NCIS statement last December said.
The Navy did not release details of how Martin came to the attention of the investigators or how he allegedly made contact with the agent posing as a spy.
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