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Aldrich Ames, the veteran CIA officer whose betrayal exposed Western intelligence assets and contributed to one of the most devastating security breaches in U.S. history, has died in a Maryland prison. He was 84.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed that Ames died Monday.

During 31 years with the CIA, Ames sold American secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia. He admitted receiving $2.5 million from Moscow between 1985 and his arrest in 1994.

The information he disclosed included the identities of 10 Russian officials and one Eastern European who were spying for the United States or Great Britain. He also revealed details about spy satellites, surveillance operations and intelligence methods.

His disclosures have been blamed for the executions of Western agents operating behind the Iron Curtain and dealt the CIA a major setback during the Cold War. Prosecutors said his actions deprived the United States of valuable intelligence for years.

Ames pleaded guilty to espionage and tax-evasion charges without going to trial. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

At sentencing, Ames expressed “profound shame and guilt” over what he called a betrayal committed for money to cover his debts. Yet he disputed the extent of the harm, saying he did not believe he had “noticeably damaged” the United States or “noticeably aided” Moscow.

He also dismissed global espionage battles as a sideshow with little effect on major security interests. In a jailhouse interview one day before his sentencing, Ames said “financial troubles, immediate and continuing” drove him to spy.

Ames was assigned to the Soviet and Eastern European division at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, when he first approached the KGB, according to an FBI account of the case. He kept supplying secrets while posted in Rome and after returning to Washington.

As Ames continued passing information, U.S. intelligence officials struggled to determine why Moscow was uncovering so many of their agents.

His espionage overlapped with that of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was arrested in 2001 and accused of accepting $1.4 million in cash and diamonds for secrets provided to Moscow. Hanssen died in prison in 2023.

Ames’ wife, Rosario, pleaded guilty to lesser espionage charges for assisting him. She was sentenced to 63 months in prison.