Former U.S. Navy Sailor Gets 16-Year Sentence for $12,000 Worth of Spying
A former U.S. Navy sailor who was paid a mere $12,000 over an 18-month period for spying for China has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.
Jinchao "Patrick" Wei, 25, was handed the lengthy 200 months prison sentence by a federal judge in San Diego following his conviction in August last year of espionage. Wu was guilty of selling technical and operating manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China, the court found.
The Chinese-born sailor was formerly assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, and was arrested in August 2023 at Naval Base San Diego. Wei was convicted of six crimes including espionage and unlawful export of technical data related to defense articles, plus related conspiracy charges. He was found not guilty of one count of naturalization fraud.
Evidence presented in court showed that as a machinist’s mate, Wei had access to information about Essex’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Notably, the ship serves as one of the cornerstones of the U.S. Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.
In February 2022, Wei started spying for China after he was recruited by a Chinese intelligence officer via social media. Over an 18-months period, the sailor sent photographs and videos of Essex, advised the officer of the location of various Navy ships, and described the defensive weapons of the warship.
Evidence also showed that Wei also described problems with Essex and other U.S. Navy ships besides sending thousands of pages of technical and operational information about surface warfare ships that he had access. In total, the sailor sold about 60 manuals, as well as dozens of photographs and papers. The sailor was paid $12,000 only for these serious crimes. During the same timeframe, he completed his naturalization process and became a U.S. citizen.
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“Wei swore loyalty to the United States when he joined the Navy and reaffirmed that oath when he became a citizen,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "He made a mockery of these commitments when he chose to endanger our Nation and our servicemembers by selling U.S. military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for personal profit."
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.