US Navy sailor sentenced to 200 months for spying for China, selling military secrets

Jinchao Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was convicted by a federal jury in August 2025 and sentenced in federal court following a five-day trial. Wei was arrested in August 2023 as he reported for duty aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the US Pacific Fleet.

Federal prosecutors said Wei sold national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the People’s Republic of China in exchange for more than $12,000.

“Members of the United States military swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “This active-duty US Navy sailor betrayed his country and compromised the national security of the United States. The Justice Department will not tolerate this behavior.”

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Wei “made a mockery” of the oath he reaffirmed upon becoming a US citizen by selling sensitive Navy information for personal profit, adding that the sentence reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring that those who betray US secrets “pay a very high price.”

According to court records, Wei served as a machinist’s mate and held a US security clearance, giving him access to classified information related to the USS Essex’s weapons, propulsion, and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and play a central role in US power projection and expeditionary strike operations.

The Justice Department said Wei was recruited in February 2022 by a Chinese intelligence officer who initially posed as a naval enthusiast affiliated with a state-owned Chinese shipbuilding company. Evidence showed that Wei quickly suspected the individual was a foreign intelligence operative.

On February 22, 2022, Wei told a fellow Navy sailor that he believed he was “on the radar of a China intelligence organization,” describing the contact as “extremely suspicious” and saying, “this is quite obviously f***ing espionage.” Despite being advised to cut off contact, Wei instead switched to encrypted messaging applications and continued cooperating with the handler.

Between March 2022 and his arrest in August 2023, Wei provided photographs and videos of the USS Essex, disclosed the locations of US Navy ships, described defensive weapons systems, and transmitted thousands of pages of restricted technical and operational documents taken from Navy computer systems, prosecutors said.

Among the materials Wei sold were at least 60 technical and operating manuals detailing power, steering, weapons control, aircraft and deck elevator systems, and damage-control procedures aboard US Navy ships. Many of the documents carried explicit export-control warnings.

In exchange, Wei received payments totaling more than $12,000 over an 18-month period. Prosecutors said he used encrypted applications, deleted communications, employed digital “dead drops,” and accepted new electronic devices provided by his handler to conceal his activities.

“Wei betrayed the trust placed in him as a member of the US Navy,” said FBI Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky. “This sentencing demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting sensitive national defense information.”

Following one day of jury deliberations, Wei was convicted of six charges, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of defense-related technical data in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. He was acquitted on one count of naturalization fraud.

During post-arrest interviews, Wei admitted providing thousands of pages of sensitive data to the Chinese intelligence officer and acknowledged that he knew his actions were wrong. When asked to describe his conduct, Wei responded: “Espionage.”