Zhao’s Bribes Unveiled: Selling US Navy’s Critical Secrets
US Navy serviceman, Wenheng Zhao, has confessed to selling American military secrets to a Chinese intelligence operative. The 26-year-old sailor, residing in Monterey Park, California, now faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison for two federal offenses: conspiring with an intelligence officer of the People’s Republic of China and accepting bribes. Sentencing is scheduled for January 8th.
According to the US Department of Justice, Zhao was stationed at a naval base in Ventura, California, and had access to highly classified documents. The base is renowned for its development of missiles, electronic warfare systems, and other advanced weaponry. One of Zhao’s primary responsibilities was ensuring information security.
In court, Zhao admitted that between May 2021 and August 2023, he accumulated no less than $14,866 from 14 distinct bribes. The spy obtained intricate details of US Navy operations, intelligence on the United States’ critical infrastructure, data regarding large-scale naval exercises in the Pacific, and blueprints of radar systems situated in Okinawa, Japan.
For the transfer of this sensitive information, encrypted communication tools were employed, and any evidence was subsequently meticulously eradicated.
