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: espionage, conspiracy to commit espionage, three counts of exporting defense articles without a license, and one count of conspiracy to export defense articles without a license 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 is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.
A DOJ spokesperson told Newsmax that Wei faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $500,000 fine on each of the espionage charges. On each of the four other counts, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
"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 accepting nearly $15,000 in bribes for sending sensitive but unclassified military information to his Chinese handler.
After Zhao pleaded guilty in January 2024, a federal judge sentenced him to two years and three months in prison on bribery and conspiracy charges.
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 told 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 Navy ships that he took from restricted computer systems.
Defense attorney Sean Jones conceded in 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 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 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.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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