(Image Credit: IMAGN) The Kentucky Sentate gavel rests on the wooden sound block in the Kentucky Senate chambers before the first day of Concurrence began at the state Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. March 13, 2025.
San Diego, California – A federal jury in San Diego on Wednesday convicted Jinchao “Patrick” Wei, a 25-year-old Navy sailor once stationed aboard the USS Essex, of espionage and related crimes for selling U.S. military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer.
The verdict came after a five-day trial and just one day of deliberations. Wei was found guilty on six counts, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawfully exporting technical defense data in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. He was acquitted on a single count of naturalization fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for December 1, when he faces the possibility of decades in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors painted a stark picture of betrayal. In their telling, Wei abused his position as a machinist’s mate aboard the Essex, an amphibious assault ship homeported at Naval Base San Diego, to funnel highly sensitive information to a handler working for China’s government. That information included technical manuals, photographs, and operational details about the Essex and other surface warfare ships—data prosecutors argued could jeopardize sailors’ lives and national security.
The evidence showed Wei began communicating with a Chinese operative in early 2022 after being approached through social media. The man initially claimed to be affiliated with a state-owned shipbuilding firm, but Wei quickly realized he was dealing with Chinese intelligence. Despite that awareness—and after even joking to a fellow sailor that he was “obviously” engaged in espionage—Wei deepened the relationship. Within days, he moved his communications to encrypted platforms and began transmitting materials.
Between March 2022 and his arrest in August 2023, Wei sent thousands of pages of documents, along with videos, photos, and detailed ship assessments. He was paid more than $12,000 across 18 months. Prosecutors emphasized that many of the manuals Wei passed along were clearly marked with export-control warnings.
During his post-arrest interview, Wei admitted to providing the information and acknowledged that he knew what he was doing was wrong. At one point, he bluntly described his actions as “espionage” and told agents, “I’m screwed.”
Officials at every level of the investigation stressed the gravity of the case. U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon called Wei’s conduct “an egregious betrayal,” while FBI and NCIS leaders said the episode underscored both China’s aggressive intelligence posture and the need for vigilance within the U.S. military.
Wei’s conviction is part of a larger pattern of cases in which U.S. service members have been targeted for recruitment by foreign operatives. Prosecutors highlighted that Wei had recently undergone Navy training on spotting such approaches, yet pressed ahead anyway.
