Former Navy sailor from Wisconsin sentenced on espionage charges

A former U.S. Navy sailor, who graduated from Delavan-Darien High School, was sentenced on Monday to over 16 years in prison for spying for China. According to the Southern District of California, 25-year-old Patrick Wei was arrested on espionage charges as he was arriving for work on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego. A federal grand jury indicted Wei, accusing him of selling national defense information to an intelligence officer for the People’s Republic of China in exchange for $12,000. Wei was convicted of six crimes, including conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license and exporting defense articles without a license. Wei had access to sensitive national defense information in his role as a machinist’s mate. A Chinese intelligence officer, who initially portrayed himself as a naval enthusiast working for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, recruited Wei on social media in Feb. 2022. Prosecutors say the Chinese intelligence officer paid more than $12,000 over 18 months to Wei.