Ex-employee of U.S. defense firm pleads guilty in espionage case

[May 23, 2017]    (Reuters) - A former employee of a U.S. defense contractor has pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to sell sensitive satellite information to a person he believed was a Russian intelligence agent, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

Gregory Allen Justice, 49, of California is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18 and faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison for attempting to violate the Arms Export Control Act, the department said in a statement.

(Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington)

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