Spy Sailor Convicted
US Navy sailor convicted for selling military secrets to China
Riley Ceder
An active-duty U.S. Navy sailor was convicted of espionage by a federal jury on Wednesday, according to a Department of Justice press release.
Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Jinchao Wei, 25, who was stationed at Naval Base San Diego, sold Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000 over the course of 18 months.
“The defendant’s actions represent an egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military,” Adam Gordon, the United States attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement on Wednesday. “By trading military secrets to the People’s Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies.”
Wei was convicted of six crimes, including 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, the release said.
He was arrested in August 2023 on espionage charges as he arrived for work at the amphibious assault ship Essex at Naval Base San Diego, California.
Wei began his criminal plot on Feb. 14, 2022, when he engaged in communication on social media with a Chinese intelligence officer who claimed to work for the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Regardless of officer’s feigned identity, evidence presented during court proceedings outlined Wei’s understanding of the officer’s ulterior motive, according to the release.
This was shortly after he was briefed through counterintelligence training that foreign adversaries might try to recruit him through social media, according to early Military Times reporting, which cited his indictment.
Wei, who possessed a U.S. security clearance and was privy to national defense information about the Essex’s weapons systems and infrastructure, informed another U.S. Navy petty officer that he’d been tasked with spying on behalf of the People’s Republic of China.
Not exactly master spy material. Sentencing guidelines for espionage are especially complex. Statutes provide for a wide variety of different espionage crimes, and charges are based on the specific type of information and the security value of that information. MM3 Wei has been awarded six such charges and can look forward to a very long stay as a Federal guest.
Seems that he should start getting used to regular servings of cream of sum-yung-guy…
Too bad he’ll be protected at Leavenworth. Not likely any games of playing husband or wife. As Hondo used to repeatedly convey, the military corrections cadre don’t suffer fools gladly.
The Navy is BAFFLED, I tell you…
If we were to apply a strictly DOGE sort of sentencing here, wouldn’t it just make sense to kill a traitor? How much money could we save? On a separate note, not sure if old Jinchao was a traitor because I doubt he was ever loyal to America in the first place. But clearly lied on his oath.
On a good note, this being navy, you’d think there would be a yardarm somewhere close by.
Can a depth charge launcher be set for distance? Accuracy not required in this instance.
I vote for the keelhauling option….
After a run or two through the gauntlet
Off the Nimitz.
Or flapping in the wind behind Ed’s P-3
Machinest Mate 3RD Wei Just discraced the Engineering Dept. Brotherhood and the late Engineering Officer John Snipes is now turning over in his grave over Wei’s unforgivable act of treason. The bright side of this whole affair is that Wei can work in the prison kitchen.
1- 20 awdas shrimp fried lice and chow fun noodles ready wun ouwa.
2-20 won ton soops.
3-20 faw chon cookies.
I think you are being a wei bit too easy on the guy.
Well, than wei should be given 20 lashes with a wet rice noodle then wei could get a good laugh, couldn’t wei, and I see that wei are the only ones on the pun run all alone and speaking of all alone, how about the song “All Alone” by
Earl Lewis and the Channels 1958 on the backwidth side of the Gone record label.
Here ya go:
https://youtu.be/beGqZV9c_Vw
He should be flogged round the fleet and then hung from the yard arm.
Thats kinda of hard Animal since a yard is only 3 feet./grin
I like the way you think. Read about that in the Aubrey/Maturin series.
“Rogues March”
That is a great book series
My favorite series of books. I’ve circumnavigated six times now.
After completing his sentence, ship him off to China.
They’ll know what to do with him.
They will have him making chinese fortune cookies with lucky lotto numbers inside.
They have checkers in China that will keep an eye on him.
RIM SHOT
Tattoo a clown face on his ass and he’ll go from class clown to ass clown…..I’m sure there are plenty of clown lovers locked up.
Mike
USAF Retired
I move that we cease calling them “The Chinese” and return to the time honored title of “Heathen Chinee” forthwith.
My thought is to imprison him until the day he dies, then let him be buried in an unmarked grave with his name forgotten by all.
No wei!!
With this conviction, is he stilled “encouraged” to make an allotment to the Navy Relief drive? Skipper wants 100% participation, zero excuses.