BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - A U.S. Navy sailor has been convicted of spying for China.
A federal jury at the Southern District of California convicted Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, of espionage and export violations. Wei was an active-duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed at Naval Base San Diego when he agreed to sell Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Following a five-day trial and one day of deliberation, the jury convicted Wei of six counts. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1.
Jinchao Wei committed espionage by sending photographs and videos of U.S. Navy vessels, ship movement information, technical manuals, and weapons capabilities to a Chinese intelligence officer, said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.
According to evidence presented at trial, Wei was a machinist's mate for the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex. He also held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship's various systems.
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