A former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of espionage by a federal jury in August has been sentenced to nearly 16 months 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.
“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 $500, authorities said. Wei allegedly told his friend that “this is quite obviously f— espionage.”
Wei’s friend told Wei to delete the contact but instead of following his advice, Wei started messaging the person on an encrypted messaging application and began spying for the intelligence officer, according to the release.
Between March 2022 and August 2023, when Wei was arrested, Wei allegedly sent the intelligence officer photos and videos of the Essex, told the officer about the location of multiple Navy ships and described the Essex’s defensive weapons, according to the release. He also sent thousands of pages of technical and operational information about Navy warfare ships that he took from Navy computer systems and described problems with his ship and other ships based at Naval Base San Diego.
The officer paid Wei more than $12,000 over 18 months in exchange for information, authorities said. Wei also sold the intelligence officer 30 technical and operating manuals about U.S. Navy systems, which contained export control warnings and operations of multiple systems for the Essex and other ships.
The government presented evidence during the trial including phone conversations, electronic messages, and audio messages that Wei exchanged with the intelligence officer, including talking about needing to cover their tracks, according to the release.
Wei used encrypted apps, deleted messages and accounts, used digital “dead drops” that disappear in 72 hours and used a new computer and phone. The government said that Wei was aware of what he was doing and got recent training from the Navy on how to detect recruitment efforts from other governments. Wei also apparently searched the internet about another case in which a U.S. Navy sailor was convicted of espionage.
Wei was arrested along with Wenheng Zhao, another U.S. sailor who pleaded guilty to conspiring with the same intelligence officer from China. Zhao was sentenced to two years in prison in 2024.
After he was arrested, Wei admitted he gave the intelligence officer thousands of pages of manuals about U.S. Navy ships in exchange for thousands of dollars and that he later tried to hide these activities.
Wei was convicted of 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.
