Overview
- U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff handed down the 200‑month sentence on Jan. 12 following an August 2025 jury conviction on six counts, including espionage and export‑control violations.
- Wei, 25, served on the USS Essex with a security clearance and, according to prosecutors, provided photos, videos, ship locations, and about 60 technical manuals along with thousands of pages of sensitive data.
- Investigators said the handler posed as a naval enthusiast tied to a Chinese state shipbuilder; communications used encrypted apps, ephemeral drop sites, and cash payments.
- Agents arrested Wei at Naval Base San Diego in August 2023 after more than six months of surveillance; jurors acquitted him of a separate naturalization‑fraud charge.
- Court officials said discharge proceedings are underway and denaturalization is likely; a second sailor, Wenheng Zhao, pleaded guilty earlier and received about 27 months in 2024.