A U.S Navy sailor was convicted Wednesday of espionage after he sold Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer, federal officials said.
Jinchao Wei, a 25-year-old who also goes by Patrick Wei, was found guilty of six crimes, including 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. He was found not guilty of one count of naturalization fraud.
Prosecutors said Wei used his position as a machinist’s mate on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex at Naval Base San Diego to feed information to a Chinese intelligence officer who recruited Wei on social media in February 2022. He held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information, including the weapons on the Essex, prosecutors said.
Amphibious assault ships allow the military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a news release.
An attorney for Wei said there was no doubt that his client’s actions were wrong, but said Wei “never intended to harm the United States.”
“It was never disputed that Jinchao made numerous errors in judgment. He was young and naive and regrettably agreed to share some very low level information in exchange for easy money,” attorney Sean Jones said in a statement Thursday.
