Navy sailor, a Wisconsin high school alum, convicted of selling military secrets to China
Steven Martinez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Tue, January 13, 2026 at 2:35 PM UTC
2 min read
A Navy sailor, and Wisconsin high school alum, was sentenced Jan. 12 to about 16 and half years in prison for providing sensitive military information to China in exchange for $12,000.
A federal judge in California handed down that sentence to Jinchao Wei, 25, after a jury found him guilty of six charges, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Wei, also known as Patrick, is a 2019 graduate of Delavan-Darien High School, according to an online version of the school's yearbook. Delavan is in Walworth County, less than an hour's drive southwest of Milwaukee.
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A federal grand jury in the Southern District of California indicted Wei, and another sailor, in August 2023, alleging they sold national defense information to a Chinese spy. The U.S. Department of Justice charged both men under a rarely used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
While he worked as a machinist's mate with a security clearance on the U.S.S. Essex, Wei sold several dozen technical and mechanical manuals, among other sensitive information, to the Chinese intelligence officer, the DOJ said in a statement. The documents included information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems.
Wei, who was born in China, met the intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, prosecutors said. Wei admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application.
Wei was arrested along with Wenheng Zhao another naturalized citizen from China, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with the same Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for money. Zhao, also known as Thomas, was sentenced in 2024 to two years in prison.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin sailor convicted to selling military secrets to China