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Jinchao Wei Wiki – Jinchao Wei Biography

A Chinese-born US Navy sailor accused of selling sensitive ship information to the Chinese government was denied bail Tuesday after prosecutors said his mother encouraged him to take part in the scheme. . Jinchao Wei, 22, faces four counts in San Diego federal court related to his alleged dealing with an unnamed Chinese military intelligence official to provide him with “documents, sketches, plans, notes and information” in exchange for money in cash.

The officer asked Wei in February 2022 to work as an informant while he applied to become a naturalized citizen. Despite knowing that he could threaten his chances, Wei eventually agreed to the arrangement, prosecutors said at Tuesday’s detention hearing. The mother, who lives in Wisconsin, made her statement when she welcomed her son for Christmas last year, Sheppard said.

Prosecutors argued that their relationship and his involvement would increase Wei’s flight risk, and Magistrate Judge Michelle M. Pettit denied the sailor’s bail. Authorities estimate Wei earned between $10,000 and $15,000 in the deal, though the exact amount has not yet been released. As a fellow enlisted machinist, the total was equal to at least 20% of Wei’s annual Navy salary.

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In court documents, prosecutors alleged that the type of information Wei allegedly leaked to the Chinese military could “endanger the national security of the United States and the safety of defendant’s fellow US Navy sailors.” .

“Wei provided [the Chinese official] with information about the defense and weapons capabilities of the US Navy ships, the potential vulnerabilities of these ships, and information related to the movement of the ships,” the statement reads. accusation. The case comes at a time when US relations with China, which the Pentagon views as America’s main adversary under the US Defense Strategy to 2022, are increasingly frayed as Beijing moves rapidly into Your army.

Jinchao Wei Age

The age of Jinchao Wei is 22 year.

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Charges on Jinchao Wei

Prosecutors say Wei knew the deal could threaten US national security and the lives of his fellow sailors. The same month that Wei began working with the Chinese government, he had completed counterintelligence training, “which specifically warned him that foreign adversaries might attempt to recruit him through, among other avenues, social media and blogs,” according to court documents.

Defense experts told The Post that releasing such information could allow the Chinese to exploit not only vulnerabilities in Wei’s ship, the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, but also in other similar US helicopter landing ships. Large aircraft carrier-like ships could be a key tool should a war break out between the US and China due to their amphibious capabilities.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to comment specifically on Wei’s case on Wednesday, citing an “active investigation underway and under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense,” but said the Biden administration “obviously takes the problem very seriously. “We know that everyone in the military takes their obligations to protect confidential information seriously and when that information is not protected, when it is deliberately shared with foreign powers, that is something we all need to take seriously,” Kirby said.

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Wei was indicted by a federal grand jury in June on charges of transmitting defense information to assist a foreign government, exporting defense articles without a license, and two counts of conspiracy under a rarely used Espionage Act statute that makes It is a crime to collect or provide information to assist a foreign government. If he is found guilty, he could face life in prison.

“We all need to treat [this] with the appropriate level of sobriety and do what we can to not only properly hold people accountable when they have been proven guilty of that type of crime, but also to make sure that we take the proper precautions. . and additional safeguards to protect that information,” Kirby added.

Wei is not the only California-based sailor accused of selling key US military information to Chinese intelligence officials. Wenheng Zhao, 26, was also charged with conspiring to sell information, photos and videos about Navy exercises, operations and facilities.Read More……..

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