A US Naval sailor will face more than two years behind bars after pleading guilty to taking bribes from Chinese spies in exchange for sensitive military information.
Wenheng Zhao, 26, also known as Thomas Zhao, was sentenced on January 8 to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine for one count of conspiring with an intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe.
The punishment is significantly less than the maximum possible sentence of 20 years, which includes up to five years for conspiring with a foreign intelligence officer and up to 15 years for accepting bribes, as determined in an October plea hearing.
Based at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, Zhao accepted at least 14 different bribe payments from Chinese intelligence between August 2021 and May 2023, totaling at least $14,866, according to court docs.
This included information about US Navy operational security, military training and exercises, and critical infrastructure.
Zhao also entered restricted areas to gather the material and took steps to destroy evidence of his activity, all while concealing his relationship with Chinese intelligence.
Tensions between the US and China have deteriorated over many years, but especially so over matters such as alleged espionage, trade, Taiwan, and the free flow of fentanyl into the US. The most recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, held in November and hosted at a San Francisco country estate, reportedly eased those tensions some, with the two countries announcing the re-establishment of military-to-military communications.
China dismantled the direct line between the two countries' forces in 2022 following a visit to Taiwan by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
She was the highest-ranked visitor to the land China views as its own in 25 years.
China has previously threatened to reclaim Taiwan by force and responded to Pelosi's visit by launching a weekend's worth of military drills in the Taiwan Strait, both in the sea and air.
Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping reportedly committed to improving relations between the two countries, building more bridges between them, and ensuring the lines of communication do not break down again, despite the fundamental issues still dividing the two nations.
Underlying those issues, Biden was reported to have responded to a journalist's question during the summit saying Xi is a dictator, adding that China's government is entirely different from the US. .
This Cyber News was published on packetstormsecurity.com. Publication date: Wed, 10 Jan 2024 14:58:20 +0000