March 24 (Bloomberg) -- A California man was sentenced to 24 years and five months in prison for trying to pass ``sensitive'' military information to China.

Chi Mak, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Ana, California, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said in a phone interview. A jury in May found Mak guilty of acting as an agent for China without notifying the U.S. government and attempting to violate federal export laws.

Mak was the lead engineer on a project to develop quieter motors for U.S. Navy warships at an L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. unit in Southern California. He was arrested in October 2005 with his wife, brother and brother's wife.

Investigators found a disk with encrypted information in Mak's brother's luggage at Los Angeles International Airport as he prepared to depart for China. Prosecutors said the disk held ``sensitive'' information, though none that was ``classified.''

Mak will appeal the sentence, said his lawyer, Ronald Kaye. The documents Mak was accused of trying to smuggle to China had been distributed to international forums with the Navy's approval and weren't restricted, Kaye said in a telephone interview.

``This was transparently political,'' Kaye said. ``The government waved the flag of patriotism and wanted to use Mr. Mak as a scapegoat.''

Mak's wife admitted last year on the first day of her trial that she operated in the U.S. under the control of the Chinese government. Mak's brother, his brother's wife and his brother's son also pleaded guilty.

The case is U.S. v. Chi Mak, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, CR05-293.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 24, 2008 15:49 EDT