In a case apparently involving empathy instead of greed, Dr. Peter H. Lee, admitted under a plea bargain agreement on December 7, 1997, that he passed classified defense secrets to the Chinese Government in 1985 while working as a research physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lee, a naturalized US citizen who was born in Taiwan, was working on classified projects relating to the use of lasers to simulate nuclear detonations. The information was declassified in the early 1990s.
Lee also admitted to making a false statement to a government agency. This charge related to a 1997 trip Lee made to China to lecture on various topics relating to his employment as a research scientist for TRW, Inc. Following his return to the US, Lee lied on a security form when he denied that he gave technical information to the Chinese. He was fired by TRW on the same day he pleaded guilty.
According to US Government sources, Lee did receive some compensation for the information he transmitted to the Chinese in the form of travel and hotel accommodations.