Posted on 01/09/2024 8:07:07 AM PST by texas booster
A U.S. Navy service member was sentenced today to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments.
According to court documents, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, aka Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, California, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of conspiring with the intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe.
“Mr. Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the U.S. military,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today, he is being held to account for those crimes. The Justice Department is committed to combatting the Chinese government’s efforts to undermine our nation’s security and holding accountable those who violate our laws as part of those efforts.”
“Zhao betrayed his country and disgraced himself when he accepted bribes from an intelligence officer with the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “As a result, he has now been removed from the military and will serve time in federal prison. Today’s sentence shows that my office will swiftly act to root out and punish those who seek to undermine our nation’s security.”
“Make no mistake, the PRC is engaged in an aggressive effort to undermine the national security of the U.S. and its partners,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “Zhao chose to betray the oath he took to our country and put others at risk by providing sensitive U.S. information to a PRC intelligence official. The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly shown it will freely break any law or norm to achieve a perceived intelligence advantage. Today’s sentencing demonstrates, yet again, the inability of China’s Intelligence Services to prevent the FBI and our vital partners from apprehending and prosecuting the spies China recruits.”
“Mr. Zhao betrayed his oath to the United States and deserves to be held fully accountable for accepting bribes in exchange for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Angel Cruz of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Office of Special Projects. “NCIS will continue to leverage its unique law enforcement and counterintelligence authorities to vigorously pursue those who attempt to compromise our national security information. We are grateful to the FBI and Department of Justice for their substantial assistance to this lengthy investigation and greatly appreciate our continued partnership.”
Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a U.S. security clearance, engaged in a corrupt scheme to collect and transmit sensitive U.S. military information to the intelligence officer in violation of his official duties.
Between August 2021 and at least May 2023, Zhao received at least $14,866 in at least 14 separate bribe payments from the intelligence officer. In exchange for the illicit payments, Zhao secretly collected and transmitted to the intelligence officer sensitive, non-public information regarding U.S. Navy operational security, military trainings and exercises, and critical infrastructure. Zhao entered restricted military and naval installations to collect and record this information.
Zhao transmitted plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theatre, operational orders and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system located in Okinawa, Japan.
He used sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information. He also destroyed evidence and concealed his relationship with the intelligence officer. Zhao’s conduct violated his official duties to protect such information and the oath he swore to protect the United States.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division and NCIS conducted the investigation. IRS-Criminal Investigation provided substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annamartine Salick, Sarah Gerdes, Christine Ro and Kathrynne Seiden for the Central District of California prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Waters for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section provided valuable assistance.
I was not taken in, I literally stated sensitive info, I know the difference.
You may not understand how this works.
1. First you find someone willing to take the bribe / give basic info
2. Next you gather that info, create a dossier to further entrap the informant forcing him to have to much at stake to back out
3. Use the informant to further collect the actual intelligence of use as he risk’s being exposed now, it moves from bribery to blackmail.
The person in question demonstrated this intent and willingness to betray his oath, as such he deserves 30 years to life and forfeiture of all assets. He committed treason, it does not matter that the actual information may have been of little use, it mattered that his intent was clear and posed a real threat as it could have progressed to far worse.
If he had been caught spying for the US in the PRC, he would have been shot and rather quickly.
Ya, likely some janitor would have bene moping up blood at the file cabinet.
I wonder why they didn’t charge him as a ‘spy’… /s
My thoughts exactly.
“Caught red handed, they throw a kleenex at him.”
Blame the US Navy as they didn’t bring him to Courts Martial where he would have received life in prison.
“Mr. Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the U.S. military,”
Treason used to be punishable by death. He should have been hung from the yardarm of the closest ship.
Unbelievable!
Particularly compared to the monstrous sentences handed out to the J6 peaceful protesters...
The SOB POS needs old sparky!
Espionage and all he gets is a short in prison and PART of the money he was paid?!!?
And an American prison at that.
Nothing like a Chinese prison or any other gulag from around the totalitarian world.
Why isn’t he going to prison for life?
I think he should be taken halfway to China and dropped into the ocean.
Swalwell ... ha!
It does make me wonder if he was charged so that some other mole could be kept free.
Since we have no spies left in China, after the Biden administration took over, suddenly our sources of Chinese intelligence seemed to have dried up ... again.
Probably more going on behind the scenes considering the light sentence. File under: How to look like a spy for the other guys without actually being a spy for the other guys.
This is why we interned the Japanese during WWII.
Far less of a penalty than many J6 protestors.
Didn’t we have something like that in the good old days?
The left will go after as many voters as possible. To hell with America!
Summarily execute. Publicly.
Yes, your 1, 2 and 3.
Oaths of office/country are serious and binding. Think of the willful act of breaking your oath as similar to there’s no such thing as being a little bit pregnant.
Seems Mr. Owen is the one who’s been take in.
So we have people who perhaps committed a misdemeanor or two, languishing in solitary confinement, and facing two decades, or more in jail, for protesting the results of an election, but some scumbag who spies on the United States, and whom we know, succeeded in transmitting, valuable intelligence, gets only 27 months and a few thousand dollar fine? Tell me what’s wrong with this picture.
Agreed 27 months is less time in jail than the Jan 6 protestors.
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