Jan. 13, 2026, 8:41 a.m. ET
A former U.S. Navy sailor has been sentenced to over 16 years in federal prison for selling secret military information on American ships to China, officials said.
Jinchao Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was sentenced on Jan. 12 to 200 months on espionage charges, the Department of Justice announced. He was convicted in August by a jury of conspiracy to commit espionage; espionage; and unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Wei, who worked on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex at Naval Base San Diego until his arrest in 2023, sold information to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000, prosecutors said in a news release. The naturalized U.S. citizen shared thousands of documents and dozens of operating manuals and other sensitive information, prosecutors said.
“Wei swore loyalty to the United States when he joined the Navy and reaffirmed that oath when he became a citizen,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said. “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.”
An attorney listed as representing Wei in court documents didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A second sailor, Wenheng Zhao, was charged at the same time as Wei in a separate case and pleaded guilty to taking bribes to transmit sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence officer. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 2024.
Ex-Navy sailor sold information about US ships
Wei, who was born in China, was initially approached by the Chinese intelligence officer while beginning the process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, prosecutors said. He once admitted to the officer that he knew his actions could affect his application. The officer even congratulated Wei once he obtained citizenship. Wei was found not guilty on one count of naturalization fraud.
Wei held a security clearance, and had access about the USS Essex’s “weapons, propulsion and desalination systems,” the Justice Department said. Beginning in February 2022, Wei was accused of communicating with the Chinese officer, who requested photos, video and documents about U.S. Navy ships.
Manuals he sold to the officer included information on the Essex’s power, steering, weapons control, aircraft and deck elevators, the DOJ said. Wei also sent photos and videos of the Essex, shared locations of other Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex with the officer, prosecutors said.
He was well aware he was spying for a foreign intelligence officer, prosecutors said. In early 2022, Wei told a friend who was also in the Navy about his communications with the Chinese officer, and said he is “no idiot” and that “this is quite obviously f—— espionage.” He also took steps to delete messages and use encrypted platforms to keep his relationship with the officer a secret, the DOJ said.
After his arrest, during an FBI interview, Wei admitted he knew his actions were wrong, according to the news release. Asked how he would describe what he had been doing, Wei said, “espionage,” according to the DOJ.
