A federal judge in San Diego sentenced former U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei to 200 months in prison after a federal jury convicted him in August of six crimes, including espionage, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Wei, 25, was an engineer for the amphibious assault ship USS Essex and was sentenced Monday to more than 16 years in prison. The U.S. Department of Justice said prosecutors asked for the prison term because Wei sold technical and operating materials involving ship systems to an intelligence officer working for China.
The DOJ said Wei was paid more than $12,000 for the information he sold. Wei was one of two California-based sailors charged on Aug. 3, 2023, with providing sensitive military information to China, prosecutors said. The other defendant, Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced to more than two years in 2024 after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of receiving a bribe in violation of his official duties, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Wei was recruited in 2022 via social media by an intelligence officer who portrayed himself as a naval enthusiast working for a state-owned company, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Prosecutors said Wei later moved his conversations with the intelligence officer to different encrypted messaging channels after he was warned about the contact.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Wei told a friend the person he was communicating with was “extremely suspicious” and “quite obviously” espionage, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Wei disregarded that warning to delete the contact and instead continued the communications, shifting them to a different encrypted app he believed was more secure.
Over an 18-month period, prosecutors said Wei sent photos and videos of the Essex and advised the intelligence officer on the location of various Navy ships. Prosecutors said he also told the officer about the Essex’s defensive weapons.
Prosecutors said Wei sold the intelligence officer 60 technical and operating manuals, including manuals for weapons control as well as for aircraft and deck elevators. Prosecutors said those manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships.
Wei’s defense included an apology to the judge in a letter before sentencing, prosecutors said. The DOJ said Wei apologized and told the judge he shouldn’t have shared anything with the person he had considered a friend, writing that “introversion and loneliness” clouded his judgment.
The case comes as U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about espionage threats they say the Chinese government poses. Prosecutors also said their criminal cases have involved alleged theft of sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.