‘I’m screwed.’ Navy sailor caught spying for China while stationed in CA, feds say
A Navy sailor stationed in San Diego started selling military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer who, according to federal prosecutors, recruited him over social media and turned into his “handler.”
Jinchao Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was paid more than $12,000 in exchange for sharing sensitive naval information with the intelligence officer, whom Wei came to call “Big Brother Andy” over the course of their communications, prosecutors said.
This went on for over 18 months, until Wei was arrested in August 2023, when he showed up to work on the U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. The U.S.S. Essex is an amphibious assault ship at the base, where Wei was on active duty and held a security clearance.
After prosecutors said Wei was taken into custody on espionage charges, he told FBI agents: “I’m screwed.”
The charges stem from him sharing thousands of pages of classified documents about the Essex and other navy warfare ships with the Chinese intelligence officer, according to prosecutors, as well as him revealing additional secrets about the ship and U.S. Navy vessels at his base and beyond.
On Aug. 20, a federal jury found Wei guilty of espionage and five other charges, according to prosecutors:
- Conspiracy to commit espionage
- Conspiracy to export defense articles without a license
- Three counts of Exporting Defense Articles without a License
He was found not guilty of naturalization fraud during the trial, which lasted for five days, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
One of Wei’s defense attorneys, Sean M. Jones, told McClatchy News via email on Aug. 21, “It was never disputed that Jinchao made numerous errors in judgment.”
“He was young and naive and regrettably agreed to share some very low level information in exchange for easy money,” Jones added. “The evidence at trial made clear he never intended to harm the United States, and the risk of any actual harm is speculative at best.”
Inside the courtroom on Aug. 19, the prosecution argued Wei chose to spy for China for selfish reasons, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
“This is not a case about the defendant hating the United States or his allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Barry said to the jury, according to the newspaper. “Jinchao Wei’s allegiance was to Jinchao Wei. Jinchao Wei was loyal to Jinchao Wei.”
Wei’s defense attorneys, Michael Joseph Bertola II and Sean Michael Jones, did not return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Wei was born in China, where he lived until 2016, when he moved to Wisconsin with his mother and attended high school in the U.S., according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In 2021, he joined the Navy and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in May 2022, court filings say.
About a year after Wei began trading secrets with the Chinese intelligence officer, prosecutors said in his superseding indictment, Wei bragged to a relative that “while other U.S. Navy sailors were driving cabs to make extra money, all he had to do was leak secrets.”
‘Recruited’ over social media
At Naval Base San Diego, the “homeport” of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, Wei worked as a machinist’s mate on the Essex and was granted “access to sensitive national defense information,” including weapons on the ship and its capabilities, such as how the vessel moves forward and how it removes salt from seawater, according to prosecutors.
The sprawling base located along the San Diego Bay has 56 Navy ships and two “auxiliary vessels,” according to the Navy.
In February 2022, the Chinese intelligence officer, posing as someone with a passion for naval ships and working for the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, which is headquartered in Beijing, “recruited” Wei on social media, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“The evidence showed that even during the early days of his espionage career, Wei strongly suspected the intelligence officer’s true identity and motive,” prosecutors said.
While the government asserts the individual worked for Chinese intelligence, Jones told McClatchy News that their “exact affiliation with the Chinese government remains unclear.”
About a week later, Wei told his friend and fellow sailor that he suspected he was “on the radar of a China intelligence organization” and was communicating with an “extremely suspicious” person who wanted to know more about U.S. Navy ships, according to prosecutors.
Wei also revealed they offered him $500, prosecutors said.
During the conversation, Wei said he knew “this is quite obviously (expletive) espionage,” according to prosecutors.
Wei’s friend advised him to delete the individual’s contact, but Wei continued messaging the intelligence officer over an encrypted messaging platform, prosecutors said.
Between March 2022 and August 2023, Wei shared photos and footage of the Essex with the Chinese intelligence officer, as well as what weapons were aboard the ship and the ship’s weaknesses, according to prosecutors. They said he also detailed coordinates and vulnerabilities about other Navy vessels.
“In one of his larger thefts of U.S. Navy data, Wei sold the intelligence officer at least 30 technical and operating manuals about U.S. Navy system,” prosecutors said.
Overall, he exchanged about 60 U.S. Navy manuals related to the ship’s technical and operating capabilities, along with other sensitive information, according to prosecutors.
Though Wei communicated with his “handler” over encrypted platforms and took a variety of other steps to keep their discussions private, the government ultimately obtained their phone conversations as well as written and audio messages as evidence, prosecutors said.
He was being surveilled by federal authorities, who were monitoring his phone and “bugged his apartment,” The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Wei knew his relationship with the Chinese intelligence officer was espionage, as he had been trained on identifying attempts for recruitment by other countries, according to prosecutors.
His internet search history showed he read about a U.S. Navy sailor who was found guilty of espionage, prosecutors said.
According to the government, Wei was wiling to continue sharing more secrets with the intelligence officer, who prosecutors said made “increasingly generous” offers.
The officer once offered to arrange for Wei and his mother to take a trip to China, according to prosecutors.
Jones told McClatchy News that when Wei was caught, he “gave a full confession.”
“If there is only one thing I can make clear, it is that Jinchao loves America,” Jones said. “He has no allegiance to China.”
“He made a stupid decision to make some easy money by selling outdated maintenance manuals to a broken and obsolete steam powered ship,” Jones added. “I firmly believe his actions had absolutely no effect on national security.”
Wei’s sentencing is set for Dec. 1, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He faces lengthy prison time, including up to life in prison for the espionage charge.
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