{"id":201338,"date":"2026-01-13T18:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T02:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canyon-news.com\/?p=201338"},"modified":"2026-01-14T07:30:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:30:04","slug":"former-us-navy-sailor-sentenced-for-espionage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canyon-news.com\/former-us-navy-sailor-sentenced-for-espionage\/","title":{"rendered":"Former US Navy Sailor Sentenced For Espionage"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

SAN DIEGO\u2014On January 12, former U.S. Navy Sailor Jinchao Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for selling national defense information for $12,000 to an intelligence officer working for the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"
Photo courtesy of Wang Tianfang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

According to the DOJ, Wei was arrested in August 2023 on charges of espionage. He arrived for duty at the homeport of the Pacific Fleet aboard the amphibious assault ship, the U.S.S. Essex, at Naval Base San Diego.

Wei\u2019s trial lasted for five days. The jury deliberated for one day before he was found guilty in August 2025. He was convicted of six crimes, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and the unlawful export and conspiracy to export technical data related to defense articles, which is a violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. He was found not guilty on one count of naturalization fraud.

\u201cMembers of the United States military swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. This active-duty U.S. Navy sailor betrayed his country and compromised the national security of the United States. The Justice Department will not tolerate this behavior. “We stand ready to investigate, defend, and protect the interests of the American people,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Wei swore loyalty to the United States when he joined the Navy and reaffirmed that oath when he became a citizen. He then accepted the solemn responsibility of protecting the Nation\u2019s secrets when the United States entrusted him with sensitive Navy information. He made a mockery of these commitments when he chose to endanger our Nation and our servicemembers by selling U.S. military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for personal profit. Today\u2019s sentence reflects our commitment to ensuring those who sell our Nation\u2019s secrets pay a very high price for their betrayal,” stated John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

The DOJ had evidence and documentation showing Wei\u2019s communication with Wei\u2019s contact in the People\u2019s Republic of China since February 2022.

In January 2023, in a separate espionage case, another U.S. Navy sailor, Wenheng Zhau, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for taking bribes to transmit sensitive military data to Chinese intelligence.

The DOJ indicated the individuals were not Navy SEALs, who were part of a special operations unit. They were regular Navy sailors.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO\u2014On January 12, former U.S. Navy Sailor Jinchao Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for selling national defense information for $12,000 to an intelligence officer working for the People\u2019s Republic of China. According to the DOJ, Wei was arrested in August 2023 on charges of espionage. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":500,"featured_media":201403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,27],"tags":[25398],"class_list":["post-201338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-america","category-world","tag-us-navy"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer US Navy Sailor Sentenced For Espionage - Canyon News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Newsroom is open 24 hours, please reach us by email at info@canyon-news.com or by phone Monday through Friday 9-5. 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