The US Department of Justice announced on Monday (January 12th) that former Chinese-American Navy sailor Jinchao Wei (Jinchao Wei) was sentenced to 200 months in prison for espionage by a federal court. He was accused of conspiring to send defense information to Chinese officials and engaging in espionage activities.
The outcome of today’s sentencing highlights the joint determination of the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice, and intelligence partners – we will vigorously investigate and hold accountable those who endanger the operational efficiency, readiness, and national security of the Navy fleet. NCIS Director Omar Lopez emphasized in a statement.
Jinchao Wei, 25 years old, with the English name Patrick, was born in China and later naturalized as a US citizen. At the time of his arrest in August 2023, he was an active-duty sailor stationed at the San Diego Navy Base. Holding a US security clearance, he had access to sensitive defense information related to ship weapons, propulsion, and desalination systems.
At the urging of his mother, he began working as a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) informant from 2022 onwards, earning $12,000. In August last year, a jury found Jinchao Wei guilty of six charges, including conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiring to engage in espionage activities, and illegally exporting classified data related to US Navy ships. However, one charge of naturalization fraud against Jinchao Wei was acquitted.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Jinchao Wei was serving aboard the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship stationed at the San Diego Navy Base (homeport of the Pacific Fleet) at the time of his arrest. Ships like the USS Essex are similar to small aircraft carriers and serve as a cornerstone of the US Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities, enabling the projection of force by the US military.
Prosecutors previously revealed that Jinchao Wei was approached by CCP intelligence officers when he applied for US citizenship, with his mother encouraging him to become a CCP informant, suggesting he could secure a position within the CCP government after retiring. The mother and son were invited to visit China by CCP intelligence officers. Even after Jinchao Wei became a US citizen, CCP intelligence officials congratulated him.
The Department of Justice stated that on February 14, 2022, Jinchao Wei was recruited by a CCP government intelligence officer through social media. The officer initially claimed to be a Navy enthusiast who worked at the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation. However, evidence indicated that Jinchao Wei had suspicions from the start about the officer’s true identity as a CCP intelligence officer and the officer’s ulterior motives for approaching him.
Despite advice from friends to sever contact with the suspicious intelligence officer, Jinchao Wei ignored it and the next day began using a supposedly more secure encrypted communication app to contact the officer, cooperating with him in espionage activities.
Evidence showed that between March 2022 and August 2023, Jinchao Wei sent photos and videos of the USS Essex, notified the locations of multiple US Navy ships, described the defensive weapon systems of the USS Essex, and disclosed issues about his own ship and other ships at sea, as well as the San Diego Navy Base, to the CCP intelligence officer’s demands.
Furthermore, Jinchao Wei also stole thousands of pages of technical and operational information on US Navy surface ships, including the USS Essex, from the US Navy’s internal computer systems and sent them to the CCP intelligence officer. In exchange, the intelligence officer referred to as “Big Andy” paid Jinchao Wei over $12,000 in compensation over 18 months.
At one point, Jinchao Wei sold at least 30 technical and operational manuals of US Navy systems in a major data leak transaction, providing detailed explanations of various systems on the USS Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, weapon control, aircraft and deck elevators, and damage control. These manuals bore explicit warnings against unauthorized disclosure.
In total, Jinchao Wei provided approximately 60 technical and operational manuals on US Navy ships to the CCP intelligence officer, along with dozens of ship photos and related information from his service on the USS Essex.
FBI Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division Roman Rozhavsky said in a statement that Jinchao Wei knowingly and deliberately disclosed sensitive military information to a CCP intelligence officer, violating his commitments. This sentencing serves as a warning to all that those who prioritize personal gain over commitments and US security will face legal consequences.