Jinchao Wei, a US Navy sailor, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after selling confidential information about American vessels to China.
Also known as Patrick Wei, the 25-year-old is a Chinese citizen who was living in San Diego, California (USA). He is said to have been encouraged by his mother to sell military secrets of the United States to the Chinese government.
Wei was recruited by a Chinese intelligence officer, whom Wei referred to as “Big Brother Andy,” through social media while he was applying for US citizenship in February 2022.
The man initially presented himself as a naval enthusiast working for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. However, evidence showed that Wei suspected from the start that he was dealing with a Chinese military intelligence officer.
Wei confided to a friend that an “extremely suspicious” individual had offered him $500 a day to “walk along the pier” to “see which ships are docked” and admitted that “this is obviously espionage.”
However, after receiving a cash offer, Wei provided the officer with photos and videos, information about ship locations, and details about weapons via a different encrypted messaging app between March 2022 and August 2023.
During this 18-month period, Wei received about $12,000 for his espionage work, which included a large sum for selling at least 30 technical and operational manuals about US Navy systems.
The investigation also revealed that Wei’s mother was aware of her son’s espionage activities and pressured him to continue cooperating with Chinese intelligence, believing it could secure him a future job with the Chinese government.
Before his arrest, Wei even researched airline tickets to China after the Chinese intelligence officer stated he was willing to take him and his mother, whose identity has not been revealed, to attend an in-person meeting.
At trial, prosecutors presented phone calls, texts, and audio messages between Wei and the Chinese officer showing their communications, secrecy, assigned tasks, efforts to cover up, and how Wei was paid.
Wei pleaded for leniency in a handwritten letter to the judge filed days before the sentence. His attorneys requested a sentence of only 30 months, arguing that Wei believed the Chinese officer was merely a naval enthusiast working for a state-owned shipbuilding company.
In August 2025, Wei was sentenced to 200 months in prison for conspiring to commit espionage, espionage, illegal export, and conspiring to export technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
“This active-duty US Navy sailor betrayed his country and compromised US national security,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
In addition to Wei, Wenheng Zhao, another Chinese official in the US Navy based in California, was sentenced to two years in prison for espionage in 2024, according to the Department of Justice.
Photos: Creative Commons / Reproduction. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
