Paul Nicholas Whelan (born March 5, 1970) is a Canadian-born former United States Marine with U.S., British, and Irish citizenship. He was arrested in Russia on December 28, 2018, and accused of spying. On June 15, 2020, he received a 16-year prison sentence. He is described as a corporate security director. He received a bad conduct discharge from the US Marine Corps. He was reported to have previously worked as a police officer in Michigan.