A U.S. Navy sailor pleaded guilty on Oct. 10 to receiving bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for sensitive U.S. military information, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, who also goes by Thomas Zhao, admitted that he engaged in “a corrupt scheme to collect and transmit sensitive U.S. military information to the intelligence officer in violation of his official duties,” according to an Oct. 10 statement by the DOJ.
The 26-year-old worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California, and held a U.S. security clearance. He was detained on Aug. 3 alongside Jinchao Wei, 22, who worked as an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the USS Essex.
He allegedly collected and transmitted “sensitive, non-public information regarding U.S. Navy operational security, military training and exercises, and critical infrastructure,” according to the DOJ.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen said the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence services have been “actively targeting clearance holders across the military, seeking to entice them with money to provide sensitive government information.”
According to the indictment, Mr. Zhao admitted to transmitting plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theater, operational orders, electrical diagrams, and blueprints for a U.S. radar system stationed in Okinawa, Japan.
He also admitted to using sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information, destroying evidence, and concealing his ties with the intelligence officer.
“While he and the PRC [People’s Republic of China] officer he served took great pains to conceal their corrupt scheme, investigators were vigilant in uncovering this shameful plot,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said.
Mr. Zhao, who has been in custody since his arrest on Aug. 3, faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years for the conspiracy count and bribery charge. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024.
Larissa L. Knapp, executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, described Mr. Zhao’s guilty plea as “an acknowledgment of the betrayal in selling sensitive military information to the Government of China.”
Jinchao Wei’s Case
Mr. Wei, who also goes by Patrick Wei, was indicted in August for conspiracy to send national defense information to a Chinese intelligence officer.He was arrested after reporting to work at Naval Base San Diego, homeport of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and has pleaded not guilty.
Whether the two cases are connected or whether the same Chinese intelligence official was involved in the two schemes remains unclear.
Between March 2022 and his arrest, Mr. Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed locations of multiple Navy ships, and provided details of the weapons of the Essex, according to a statement.
In June 2022, he allegedly sent the Chinese official about 30 technical and mechanical manuals consisting of export control warnings and details of the various operation systems on the USS Essex and other ships, including power, steering, aircraft and deck elevators, and damage and casualty controls.
The official paid Mr. Wei $5,000 for the materials and confirmed that at least 10 of the manuals were useful to him, according to the indictment. In May 2022, when Mr. Wei became a U.S. citizen, the Chinese handler congratulated him, officials said at a press conference on Aug. 3.
