Former US sailor who sold secrets to China for $12,000 sentenced to 16 years in prison

[Financial News] A former US Navy sailor of Chinese descent who sold military secrets to the People's Republic of China while serving in the US military has received a lengthy prison sentence of more than 16 years.
On the 13th (local time), US media outlets including The Hill reported that a US federal district court the previous day sentenced former US Navy sailor Jinchao Wei, who was found guilty of providing military secrets to the People's Republic of China while on active duty and receiving $12,000 (about 18 million won) in payments, to 200 months in prison.
Todd Blanche, a senior official at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also said in a statement, "This sailor, who was on active duty at the time of the offense, betrayed his country and harmed the security of the United States. The DOJ will not tolerate such conduct."
Wei was born in the People's Republic of China and later naturalized as a citizen of the United States. In August last year, a federal jury found him guilty on six counts, including the illegal export and conspiracy to export technical data related to defense articles.
He is also reported to have provided a People's Republic of China intelligence officer, between 2022 and 2023, with "thousands of pages of technical and operational information" stored on a restricted-access Navy computer system, in exchange for more than $12,000.
Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, was arrested on August 2, 2023, on his way to work at Naval Base San Diego. Serving as an engineman aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), he was responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the ship's equipment.
According to the investigation, he was recruited by a People's Republic of China intelligence officer via social networking services (SNS) in February 2022 and, until his arrest, sent photos and videos of the USS Essex (LHD-2) as well as location information on several ships at Naval Base San Diego.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter