US Navy Sailor Sentenced to Nearly 17 Years in Prison for Selling Military Secrets to China

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Jan 14, 2026 - 10:54 Updated: Jan 14, 2026 - 03:46
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US Navy Sailor Sentenced to Nearly 17 Years in Prison for Selling Military Secrets to China

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A former U.S. Navy sailor who had been found guilty of providing the Chinese communist regime with sensitive U.S. military information in exchange for money was sentenced to 200 months in prison, the Justice Department said on Monday.
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Wei Jinchao, also known as Patrick Wei, was arrested on espionage charges in August 2023 after reporting for duty aboard the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship based in San Diego.
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Wei, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted by a federal jury in San Diego of espionage and five other criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit 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, after a five-day trial in August 2025.

Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence Wei to 21 years and 10 months in prison, arguing that his actions jeopardized U.S. national security and betrayed the country that granted him citizenship.

“Defendant compromised the U.S. Navy’s entire fleet of amphibious assault ships by sending the Chinese Government thousands of pages of technical information about the fleet’s complex ship systems and how the U.S. Navy operates and maintains those systems,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parmley wrote in a government sentencing memorandum filed earlier this month.

“It is a betrayal of America and its people, and it often puts real lives at risk. It also can cost the Government huge amounts of money when it must adjust its military planning, operations, and tactics to account for compromises in informational security.”

In a letter submitted to the court before sentencing, his mother, Wei Mingli, appealed for leniency, recounting the hardships her son faced growing up. She said that he was raised without a father and left home around age 10 to attend boarding school because she had to care for her ailing mother at the time. She portrayed her son as a “devoted Christian” and a kind person who continued to help others, even while in custody.
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Patrick Wei’s attorney had sought a much lighter sentence of two years and six months. Wei also wrote a letter to the court expressing remorse for sharing information with an individual he said he once considered a friend.

Now 25 years old, Wei apologized for “wasting taxpayers’ money and eroding people’s trust” in him, and pleaded for “love and mercy” in determining the sentence.

“Yes, I screwed up,” he wrote. “If you could find in yourself to be able to show me some love and mercy in your Honorable conclusion, I would, without fear of contradiction, pay it forward and help others for the rest of my life.”

Details

According to the indictment, Wei was recruited through social media by a Chinese intelligence officer posing as a naval enthusiast affiliated with China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, a state-owned giant shipbuilder, in February 2022.

About a week later, Wei confided in a friend in the U.S. Navy that the Chinese officer had offered him $500 for daily information on which ships were docked at the San Diego base. Wei told his friend that he was “no idiot” and that what he was being asked to do was commit espionage.

At the time, Wei was a petty officer and worked as a machinist’s mate, which gave him access to sensitive national defense information, including data on U.S. Navy ships and their weapons, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said that, starting in March 2022, Wei sent the Chinese intelligence officer multiple photos and videos of the Essex, along with information about the ship’s defensive weapon systems.

In May 2022, the Chinese officer sent him money and congratulated him on becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen.

In June 2022, Wei provided 30 technical and mechanical manuals containing export-control warnings and details of various operational systems aboard the Essex and similar U.S. Navy vessels, including power, steering, aircraft, and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty control.

In return for transmitting these documents, Wei received $5,000. The Chinese officer informed Wei that 10 of the manuals he provided had not been seen before and were “proved useful,” according to his indictment.

During that same month, the Chinese officer specifically requested that Wei provide information about the number and training of U.S. Marines participating in an international maritime warfare exercise, as well as photographs of military equipment. Wei complied by sending several images of military hardware.

In August 2022, Wei received $1,200 from the Chinese intelligence officer after passing along another 26 documents detailing the power structures and operations of the Essex and similar vessels, which contained data subject to export controls and information classified as “critical technology” by the U.S. Navy.

Wei continued to transmit other sensitive data to the officer throughout 2023, including information about the layout and location of weapons systems, repairs to the Essex, and mechanical vulnerabilities of similar vessels. The officer instructed Wei to keep their relationship discreet and to destroy any evidence that could reveal their activities.

In the press release announcing the sentence against Wei, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said: “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 this Nation’s 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’s sentence reflects our commitment to ensuring those who sell our Nation’s secrets pay a very high price for their betrayal.”

On the same day Wei was arrested, another U.S. Navy sailor, Zhao Wenheng, who was based out of Naval Base Ventura County in California, was also taken into custody. Zhao, also found guilty of selling military secrets to China, was sentenced to 27 months in prison in January 2024.
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Frank Fang and Eva Fu contributed to this report. 
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