A U.S. Navy sailor has been fined $5,500 and sentenced to 27 months in prison after sharing military information with Chinese intelligence.
According to a January 8 press release from the Justice Department, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, also known as Thomas Zhao, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of conspiring with an intelligence officer and one count of taking a bribe.
“Mr. Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the U.S. military,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said. “Today, he is being held to account for those crimes. The Justice Department is committed to combatting the Chinese government’s efforts to undermine our nation’s security and holding accountable those who violate our laws as part of those efforts.”
After taking thousands of dollars in bribes, Zhao sent Chinese intelligence confidential plans for a military base in the Indo-Pacific, as well as blueprints for radar systems, Business Insider reported.
Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch stated, “Make no mistake, the PRC is engaged in an aggressive effort to undermine the national security of the U.S. and its partners.”
“Zhao chose to betray the oath he took to our country and put others at risk by providing sensitive U.S. information to a PRC intelligence official. The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly shown it will freely break any law or norm to achieve a perceived intelligence advantage. Today’s sentencing demonstrates, yet again, the inability of China’s Intelligence Services to prevent the FBI and our vital partners from apprehending and prosecuting the spies China recruits.”
Zhao communicated with the Chinese officer through encrypted messaging.
