Ex-Navy Sailor Gets 200 Months Behind Bars
In this aerial photo taken Aug. 2, 2014, the US Navy's USS Essex is shown docked near downtown Seattle during the annual Seafair summer festival. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)
A former U.S. Navy sailor who sold sensitive military information to an intelligence officer linked to China has been sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison, prosecutors announced Monday.
Jinchao Wei, 25, was sentenced to 200 months in prison by a federal judge in San Diego, according to the Associated Press. A jury convicted Wei in August on six charges, including espionage. The Department of Justice said he received more than $12,000 in exchange for the information.
Wei served as an engineer aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex. He was one of two California-based sailors charged on August 3, 2023, with providing sensitive U.S. military information to China.
The second sailor, Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced in 2024 to more than two years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and accepting bribes in violation of his official duties.
U.S. officials have long warned about espionage threats posed by the Chinese government and have brought multiple criminal cases in recent years involving the theft of sensitive government and commercial information, including through cyber intrusions.
Prosecutors said Wei was first contacted in 2022 through social media by an intelligence officer who claimed to be a naval enthusiast working for China’s state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.
Court evidence showed that Wei told a friend the contact seemed “extremely suspicious” and “quite obviously” espionage. Despite being advised to cut off contact, Wei instead moved the conversations to an encrypted messaging app he believed was more secure.
Over an 18-month period, Wei sent photos and videos of the USS Essex, shared the locations of U.S. Navy ships, and provided details about the ship’s defensive weapons. Prosecutors said he also sold 60 technical and operational manuals, including documents related to weapons control systems.
The manuals contained export-control warnings and detailed the operation of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships. Wei held the rank of petty officer second class at the time.
According to the Navy, the USS Essex is capable of transporting and supporting more than 2,000 Marines during air and amphibious assault operations.
In a letter to the judge before sentencing, Wei apologized for his actions and said he should not have shared information with someone he believed was a friend. He wrote that feelings of isolation and loneliness affected his judgment.
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