Two US Navy sailors, Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao, have been arrested on charges of providing sensitive military information to China.
Wei, a naturalized US citizen, is accused of conspiring to send national defense information to a Chinese agent.
Zhao was arrested on charges of accepting money for sensitive photos and videos. Wei served as a machinist’s mate on the USS Essex and held a security clearance, giving him access to sensitive information about the ship. He was allegedly approached by a Chinese agent in February 2022 while he was going through the process of becoming a US citizen.
The agent paid Wei thousands of dollars for photographs, videos, technical manuals, and blueprints of the ship. Zhao worked at Naval Base Ventura County near Los Angeles. In 2021 he was allegedly approached by a Chinese agent who posed as a researcher seeking information for investment decisions.
The agent paid Zhao nearly $15,000 for photos and videos along with diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a US military base in Okinawa, Japan. If convicted, Wei faces 20 years to life in prison, while the charges against Zhao carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. The two men were charged in separate cases. Officials would not say whether both were contacted by the same Chinese agent.
