CALIFORNIA
A former U.S. Army Sergeant whose last duty post was Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in western Washington was arrested Friday on a felony indictment, officials stated.
He is charged him with two federal felonies: attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, will appear in U.S. District Courts in California and Washington.
“Joseph Daniel Schmidt was once a trusted guardian of our nation’s secrets and swore an oath to defend and protect U.S. national security,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “As alleged by the government, Schmidt betrayed his promise and potentially placed our nation at risk in his attempts to pass national defense information to Chinese security services. The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the American people and U.S. national security.”
According to records filed in the case, Schmidt was an active-duty soldier from January 2015 to January 2020.
His primary assignment was at JBLM in the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion. In his role, Schmidt had access to SECRET and TOP SECRET information.
After his separation from the military, Schmidt allegedly reached out to the Chinese Consulate in Turkey. Later, the Chinese security services via email offered information about national defense information.
In March 2020, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong and allegedly continued his efforts to provide Chinese intelligence with classified information he obtained from his military service.
He allegedly retained a device that allows access to secure military computer networks and offered the device to Chinese authorities to assist them in gaining access to such networks.
Schmidt remained in China, primarily Hong Kong, until he scheduled a flight to San Francisco. He was arrested at the airport.
Attempts to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information are both punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg for the Western District of Washington and Deputy Chief Matthew J. McKenzie of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.