A Chinese-born U.S. Navy sailor was convicted Wednesday of espionage and other charges for selling military secrets to a Chinese spy for $12,000.
After a five-day trial, a federal jury in San Diego convicted Jinchao Wei, 22, of six counts, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of and conspiracy to export technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
Wei also was convicted of four counts of conspiring to violate and violating the Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits exporting U.S. military equipment and technology — what the government calls “defense articles” — without a license from the State Department. Wei is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.
“The defendant’s actions represent an egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military,” said Adam Gordon, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. “By trading military secrets to the People’s Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies.”
He added, “The jury’s verdict serves as a crucial reminder that the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute traitors.”
Wei, a machinist’s mate on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, and another sailor, Wenheng Zhao, were arrested on the same day in August 2023 and charged with spying for China, but officials never said if the cases were related, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Zhao, who was arrested at a naval base in Ventura County, California, and is, unlike Wei, a naturalized U.S. citizen, admitted to accepting nearly $15,000 in bribes for sending sensitive but unclassified military information to his Chinese handler. After pleading guilty in January 2024, a federal judge sentenced Zhao to two years and three months in prison on bribery and conspiracy charges.
The DOJ said Wei was approached in February 2022 via social media by someone who claimed to be a naval enthusiast disguised as a Chinese intelligence officer. At the time, Wei was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Wei admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application.
Between February 2022 and August 2023, Wei, at the request of the officer, sent extensive information about the Essex, including photographs and videos, and also sent detailed information about other U.S. Navy ships that he took from restricted computer systems.
Defense attorney Sean Jones conceded during his closing argument that his client “did some things very, very wrong,” but he was adamant that Wei never intended to harm the U.S., the Union-Tribune reported. Jones said Wei and his mother were anti-communist and held no allegiance to China.
Jones likened the manuals that Wei sent about the Essex to “a user’s manual for a 30-year-old car. It’s not that sexy.” He argued the Essex and other Wasp-class amphibious assault ships use outdated systems.
But a special agent from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service testified that the leak of information about U.S. Navy ships, even basic information, “could jeopardize [the U.S. military’s] advantage” and reveal vulnerabilities that an enemy could exploit.
Wei’s trial came two months after the DOJ announced charges against two alleged Chinese spies in the U.S. who were accused of taking photographs of a naval base and participating in efforts to recruit U.S. military members who they thought might be open to working for Chinese intelligence.
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