LOS ANGELES
A U.S. Navy service member pleaded guilty Tuesday to giving sensitive military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China in exchange for bribery payments, officials stated.
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, also known as Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with the intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe.
Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a U.S. security clearance, admitted he engaged in a corrupt scheme to collect and transmit sensitive U.S. military information to the intelligence officer in violation of his official duties.
Between August 2021 and at least May 2023, Zhao admitted receiving at least $14,866 in at least 14 separate bribe payments from the intelligence officer.
In exchange for the illicit payments, Zhao surreptitiously collected and transmitted to the intelligence officer sensitive, non-public information regarding U.S. Navy operational security, military training and exercises, and critical infrastructure.
Zhao admitted he entered restricted military and naval installations to collect and record this information.
Zhao specifically admitted to transmitting plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theatre, operational orders, and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a Ground/air task-oriented radar system located in Okinawa, Japan.
Zhao further admitted to using sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information, destroying evidence, and concealing his relationship with the intelligence officer.
Zhao’s conduct violated his official duties to protect such information and the oath he swore to protect the United States.
“Officer Zhao betrayed his country and the men and women of the U.S. Navy by accepting bribes from a foreign adversary,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “While he and the PRC officer he served took great pains to conceal their corrupt scheme, investigators were vigilant in uncovering this shameful plot. Today’s resolution, requiring Zhao to plead guilty to all charges against him, shows that we will act swiftly and decisively to protect our nation from those who seek to undermine our security.”
Zhao pleaded guilty in federal court and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8.
Zhao faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison – five years for the conspiracy count and 15 years for the bribery charge. Zhao has been in custody since his arrest on August 3.
The FBI’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division of the Los Angeles Field Office and NCIS conducted the investigation. IRS Criminal Investigation provided substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annamartine Salick, Sarah Gerdes, Christine Ro, and Kathrynne Seiden of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.