Posted on 08/21/2025 9:44:57 AM PDT by Red Badger
A U.S. Navy sailor was convicted in federal court after selling military secrets to China, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday.
Jinchao Wei, a 25-year-old Navy sailor previously stationed at Naval Base San Diego, now potentially faces life in prison after he sold defense articles to a Chinese intelligence agent for $12,000, according to the DOJ. Wei was arrested in August 2023 after selling the secrets for nearly 18 months, sending technical documentation, naval vessel whereabouts and defensive specifications of vessels.
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“The defendant’s actions represent an egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in the announcement. “By trading military secrets to the People’s Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies. The jury’s verdict serves as a crucial reminder that the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute traitors.” (RELATED: Navy Ships Gathering Rust In Repair Yards As China Flexes In Pacific)
The DOJ did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Cartelville Text The Chinese national flag flies outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on July 26, 2023. China's foreign minister Qin Gang was removed from office on July 25, state media reported, after disappearing from the public eye for a month with little explanation from the ruling Communist Party. (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images) The Chinese national flag flies outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on July 26, 2023. (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
In February 2022, Wei was contacted by a Chinese agent, who initially pretended to be a naval enthusiast, according to the DOJ. Wei immediately suspected that the agent was involved in espionage despite his disguise, even telling a friend that he was “no idiot” and that the agent’s messages were “obviously fucking espionage.”
Despite his friend advising him to cut contact with the agent, he moved their conversation onto an encrypted messaging app, and began sending the agent the sensitive information in exchange for cash, according to the DOJ.
“In total, Wei sold the intelligence officer approximately 60 technical and operating manuals about U.S. Navy ships, as well as dozens of photographs and papers about the U.S. Navy and Wei’s assignments on the Essex,” the DOJ said in their announcement. “Many of the manuals contained conspicuous export-control warnings on their cover pages.”
Wei revealed the Essex’s specifications for its power, steering, weapons control, aircraft, deck elevators, damage and casualty controls, according to the DOJ. Wei also created multiple online accounts in order to cover his tracks, regularly using digital “dead drops” that wiped their correspondence from records after 72 hours, according to the DOJ.
Wei called his Chinese handler “Big Brother Andy” and used multiple encrypted avenues to keep their correspondence secret, according to the DOJ.
Wei’s sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2025, according to the DOJ. The maximum penalty for espionage is life in prison.
He may very well spend the rest of his unnatural life in USP Florence ... he’ll have plenty of high-profile neighbors, but never get to meet any of them.
I’m glad the writer told us it was a Navy sailor and not an Army or Air Force sailor................
Firing squad GITMO. Probably seduced bu a Shanghai hottie
Nearly all of the major spying incidents over the past 50 years have been caused by people with foreign ethnic, religious and ideological allegiances to foreign countries.
Namely....Israel, China and USSR.
Anyone with allegiances to any of these countries should have no power, authority or even access in our government or institutions.
How much does China Mitch McConnel give to the commie Chinese? We know Feinstaein had a Chinese spy on her staff for decades. FANG FANG and Swallwell. I’ve seen Chinese “interns” come and go at major aircraft manufacturers.
There are ~2.4 million folks born and raised in the PRC living in the US.
The Chinese have an easy time recruiting assets in the US because there is a huge pool of folks, they can leverage relatives back in the PRC, pay them (China has money), or play a Honey Pot (Swalwell).
https://www.axios.com/2020/12/08/china-spy-california-politicians
You have IMINT, HUMINT, SIGINT, and MASSINT.
The Chinese have a huge advantage in HUMINT collection. We have a hard time in PRC, but they have an easy time in the US.
I suspect they just use brute force, are somewhat amateurish / clumsy but use their huge numbers. Even when folks get burned, they just move on to the next (somewhat expendable).
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