Former U.S. Navy sailor gets more than 16 years for selling secrets to China
A former US Navy sailor found guilty of selling technical and operational manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China was sentenced Monday to more than 16 years in prison, prosecutors said.
A federal judge in San Diego sentenced Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, 25, to 200 months. A federal jury convicted Wei in August of six crimes, including espionage. He received more than $12,000 for the information he sold, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
Wei, an engineer on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, was one of two California-based sailors indicted on Aug. 3, 2023, for providing sensitive military information to China. The other, Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribing in violation of official duties.
U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, filing criminal charges in recent years against Beijing intelligence agents who stole sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.
Wei held a security clearance that gave him access to sensitive national security defense information about the ship’s operations and capabilities.
Wei was recruited via social media in 2022 by an intelligence officer who presented himself as a naval enthusiast working for state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, prosecutors said.
Evidence presented in court showed Wei told a friend the person was “extremely suspicious” and that it was “obviously” espionage. Wei ignored his friend’s advice to delete the contact and instead moved conversations with the intelligence officer to another encrypted messaging app that Wei considered more secure, prosecutors said.
Over the course of 18 months, Wei sent the officer photos and videos of the Essex, informed him of the locations of various Navy ships and told him about the Essex’s defensive weapons, prosecutors said.
Wei sold the intelligence officer 60 technical and operational manuals, including those on weapons control, aircraft elevators and bridges. The manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of several systems aboard the Essex and similar ships.
After being arrested in August 2023, FBI investigators asked Wei to describe his actions involving the Chinese intelligence agent.
“Spying,” he replied, according to prosecutors. They said Wei, during that interview, also told investigators, “I’m screwed.”
At the time, Wei’s attorney, Sean Jones, said in a statement to CBS News: “It has never been disputed that Jinchao made numerous errors of judgment.” He was young and naive and unfortunately agreed to share very low level information in exchange for easy money. »
He said Wei “loves America” and “has no allegiance to China”, and believed he was selling the information to someone for the “apparent personal or professional benefit of the recipient”, not for the benefit of China. Jones said the information Wei sold consisted of “outdated maintenance manuals on a broken, obsolete steamship.” Jones added that he believed Wei’s actions had “absolutely no effect on national security” and expressed hope that “given the significant mitigating circumstances, he will receive a fair sentence.”
He was a petty officer second class, which corresponds to the rank of enlisted sailor.
The Navy website says the Essex is equipped to transport and support a Marine Corps landing force of more than 2,000 troops in an air and amphibious assault.
In a letter to the judge before sentencing, Wei apologized and said he should not have shared anything with the person he considered a friend. Wei said “introversion and loneliness” clouded his judgment.
