Former Navy Sailor Sentenced to 16 Years for Espionage

Wed Jan 14 2026 05:30:41 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Jinchao Wei was convicted for selling classified naval information to a Chinese intelligence officer, receiving over $12,000 for sensitive military manuals.

Jinchao Wei, a former U.S. Navy sailor, has been sentenced to 200 months in prison for espionage after being convicted of selling sensitive naval manuals and information to a Chinese intelligence officer. Wei disregarded warnings about the suspicious nature of his interactions and continued to communicate through encrypted channels, providing extensive details about Navy operations and military assets.

A former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of selling technical and operating manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China was sentenced Monday to more than 16 years in prison, prosecutors said.

A federal judge in San Diego sentenced Jinchao Wei, 25, to 200 months. A federal jury convicted Wei in August of six crimes, including espionage, for which he was paid more than $12,000 for the information he sold, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.

Wei, who served as an engineer for the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, was one of two California-based sailors charged on August 3, 2023, for providing sensitive military information to China. The other sailor, Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced to more than two years in 2024 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and accepting a bribe.

U.S. officials have raised alarms regarding the espionage threat posed by the Chinese government, leading to several criminal cases against operatives involved in intelligence gathering, often through illegal means.

Wei was recruited in 2022 via social media by an intelligence operative posing as a naval enthusiast employed by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Court evidence revealed that Wei had voiced suspicions about the officer’s motives but ignored advice to cease communication and shifted to more secure encrypted messaging to share sensitive information.

Over 18 months, Wei provided the officer with photos and videos of the USS Essex, detailed locations of Navy vessels, and information about its defensive weaponry. He sold approximately 60 technical manuals, including those for weapons control and ship systems, all marked with export control warnings.

In a letter to the court, Wei expressed his regret and attributed his actions to “introversion and loneliness,” stating that he had misjudged the situation.