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Soldier Faces 16 Years in Prison for Espionage

Spc. William Colton Millay / AP

A military policeman was sentenced to 16 years in prison and dishonorably discharged on Monday for selling military secrets to an FBI agent posing as a Russian spy, reports Politico. 

Spc. William Colton Millay, based in Alaska, pleaded guilty in March. The FBI began investigating him in 2011 after receiving a tip that Millay contacted the Russian embassy and a Russian publication requesting information about the military.

The FBI, working with military intelligence agencies, conducted the investigation. On Sept. 13, 2011, an FBI undercover agent called Millay and set up a meeting the next day at an Anchorage hotel-restaurant. […]

Military prosecutors painted him as a white supremacist who was fed up with the Army and the United States, and was willing to sell secrets to an enemy agent, even if that would cost fellow soldiers their lives. […]

Millay, 24, said he'd work for the Russian government, and if they made it worth his while, he'd re-enlist for a second five-year stint. He also said he had confidential information on the Warlock Duke jamming system the U.S. military uses to sweep roadside bombs.

Millay dropped off an envelope in Oct. 21 2011 with information on F-22s and the Warlock Duke jamming system, which the FBI collected.

He was arrested seven days after the drop. Investigators found handguns, instructions on how to operate a Russian phone, and literature from a white supremacist organization in his barracks.