{"id":54321,"date":"2023-10-10T14:42:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T21:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54321"},"modified":"2023-10-10T14:42:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T21:42:38","slug":"u-s-sailor-gave-sensitive-military-information-to-chinese-intelligence-officer-for-14866","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54321","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Sailor Gave Sensitive Military Information to Chinese Intelligence Officer for $14,866"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"A U.S. Navy service member pleaded guilty Tuesday to giving sensitive military information to an intelligence officer from the People\u2019s Republic of China in exchange for bribery payments, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a U.S. security clearance, <\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"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. <\/span><\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n

Zhao admitted he entered restricted military and naval installations to collect and record this information.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"person<\/a>Zhao further admitted to using sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information, destroying evidence, and concealing his relationship with the intelligence officer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Zhao\u2019s conduct violated his official duties to protect such information and the oath he swore to protect the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\u201cOfficer Zhao betrayed his country and the men and women of the U.S. Navy by accepting bribes from a foreign adversary,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.\u00a0 \u201cWhile he and the PRC officer he served took great pains to conceal their corrupt scheme, investigators were vigilant in uncovering this shameful plot.\u00a0 Today\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Zhao pleaded guilty in federal court and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Zhao faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison \u2013 five years for the conspiracy count and 15 years for the bribery charge. Zhao has been in custody since his arrest on August 3.<\/span><\/p>\n

The FBI\u2019s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division of the Los Angeles Field Office and NCIS conducted the investigation. IRS Criminal Investigation provided substantial assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annamartine Salick, Sarah Gerdes, Christine Ro, and Kathrynne Seiden of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES A U.S. Navy service member pleaded guilty Tuesday to giving sensitive military information to an intelligence officer from the People\u2019s Republic of China in exchange for bribery payments, officials stated….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-court"],"yoast_head":"\nU.S. Sailor Gave Sensitive Military Information to Chinese Intelligence Officer for $14,866<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES A U.S. Navy service member pleaded guilty Tuesday to giving sensitive military information to an intelligence officer from the People\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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