A U.S. sailor on Tuesday admitted handing sensitive military information to China in exchange for bribes. Naval Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with a Chinese intelligence officer and another of taking a bribe. Between August 2021 and May 2023, Zhao took at least 14 bribe payments amounting to nearly $15,000 in return for collecting information about U.S. Navy infrastructure, operational security, and military exercises. “Officer Zhao betrayed his country and the men and women of the U.S. Navy by accepting bribes from a foreign adversary,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “While he and the PRC officer he served took great pains to conceal their corrupt scheme, investigators were vigilant in uncovering this shameful plot.”
