A U.S. Navy sailor told his friend China was asking him to spy for them. Then he did it
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A former U.S.Navy sailor convicted of espionage by a federal jury in August has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.
In August 2023, Jinchao Wei was arrested on suspicion of espionage after he arrived for work on the USS Essex at the Naval Base San Diego, according to a news release from the U.S.Attorney’s Office Southern District of California.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury after allegedly selling national defense information to an intelligence officer working for China for $12,000.For the record:4:52 p.m.Jan.
13, 2026An earlier version of this article said Jinchao Wei was sentenced to nearly 16 months in prison.He was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.“This active-duty U.S.
Navy sailor betrayed his country and compromised the national security of the United States,” Deputy Atty.Gen.
Todd Blanche said in the release.“The Justice Department will not tolerate this behavior.
We stand ready to investigate, defend, and protect the interests of the American people.”Wei, now 25, held a U.S.security clearance as a machinist’s mate and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons and desalination systems.
On Feb.14, 2022, Wei was recruited through social media by a Chinese intelligence officer, who said that he worked for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, according to the release.
Wei suspected the intelligence officer’s true identity and motive and later told a fellow seaman that he thought he was “on the radar of a China intelligence organization,” and that he was talking to an “extremely suspicious” person who was “interested in the maintenance cycle of naval ships,” according to the release.Wei said that the person was “interested in the maintenance cycle of naval ships” and wanted him to “walk the pier” to “see which ships are docked” in exchange for ...