The University at Buffalo will invoice your military branch on your behalf should they require an invoice for payment. Third-party billing is initiated by the student taking the necessary action of their sponsoring agency. For veterans that elect to use their educational benefits for payment, the student must start the certification process with the Financial Aid office each term. Please check your HUB To Do list for veterans' requirements or contact the Financial Aid office for more information.
Policy: The university will return any unearned TA funds directly to the government agency on a proportional basis, through at least the 60 percent portion of the period for which the funds were provided. The following business process will be done for all students receiving military TA:
1. We will not invoice military TA funds until week 5, after student’s registration is confirmed
2. We will check students’ registration again when payment is received
3. We will check registration at week 10, when 60% of course is completed and 100% of TA funds will be earned
4. We will return the portion of unearned TA payments when a student has stopped attending before the 60% point of each class
Schedule:
15 or 16-week Standard Course Withdraw:
Before or during weeks 1-2 100% return to Government Agency
During weeks 3-4 75% return to Government Agency
During weeks 5-8 50% return to Government Agency
During week 9 40% return to Government Agency
During weeks 10-16 0% return (60% of course is completed)
Examples:
In each of the examples below, it is possible for DoD to calculate the return of unearned TA funds to the government based upon when the student stops attending. Note that preferred terminology includes “return” versus “refund.” In each example, bold type identifies the 60% completion point.
Example 1. 5-week Course: • Day 1-7 100% • Day 8 77% • Day 9 74% • Day 10 71% • Day 11 69% • Day 12 66% • Day 13 63% • Day 14 60% • Day 15 57% • Day 16 54% • Day 17 51% • Day 18 49% • Day 19 46% • Day 20 43% • Day 21 40% • Day 22 0% Note: The educational institution’s week of instruction is counted as 7 days.
Example 2. 8-Week Course Withdraw submitted: • before or during week 1 = 100% return • during week 2 = 75% return • during weeks 3–4 = 50% return • during week 5 = 40% return • during weeks 6-8 = no return
Example 3. 15 or 16-Week Course Withdraw submitted: • before or during weeks 1–2 = 100% return • during weeks 3–4 = 75% return • during weeks 5–8 = 50% return • during weeks 9 = 40% return • during weeks 10–16 = no return
Frequently Asked Questions- Veteran's Educational Benefits Ch. 31
Frequently Asked Questions- Veteran's Educational Benefits Ch. 33
The Ministry of Defence is developing a draft law on creating a military police, whose tasks will include combating war crimes and ensuring discipline among the military.
Source: press service of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Quote: "The organisation will be formed based on the military law enforcement service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It will have separate powers for operational search activities and pre-trial investigation of war crimes (in war zones)."
"Among the main tasks are: law enforcement activities for the prevention, detection, and suppression of war crimes following the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and military regulations; operational and search activities; special prevention in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, State Transport Special Service; ensuring law and order, military discipline in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, State Transport Special Service; protection of the rights of military personnel; protection of state property and execution of punishments."
Details: Defence Ministryʼs data says the military police should become a military formation with law enforcement functions and will be part of the Defence Ministry's system.
The purpose of the formation is to maintain military discipline among the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence, and the State Transport Special Service.
It provides for the compatibility of the military police with the relevant structures of NATO member states.
Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
By Julie Watson and Lolita C. Baldor | Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material.
The two sailors, both based in California, were charged with similar moves to provide sensitive intelligence to the Chinese. But they were separate cases, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether the sailors were aware of each other’s actions.
Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities.
U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, bringing criminal cases in recent years against Beijing intelligence operatives who have stolen sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.
The pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security syllabus on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. officials said the cases exemplify China’s brazenness in trying to obtain insight into U.S. military operations.
“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government’s “determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage.”
Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of passing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.
Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, including the MV-22 Ospreys, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.
Wei continued to send sensitive U.S. military information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, Grossman said. He added that Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country” for greed.
The Justice Department charged Wei under a rarely-used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Wei did not visibly react when read the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what quite obviously is (expletive) espionage.”
Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement with the unnamed Chinese inelligence officer. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
The officer instructed Wei not to discuss their relationship, to share sensitive information and to destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said.
The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of San Diego, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at Navy facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.
The information included operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements.
The Associated Press was unable to reach the federal public defender assigned to Zhao, who pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles.
The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
It was unclear if federal officials were looking at other U.S. sailors and if the investigation was ongoing.
At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases.U.S. Attorney Grossman said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity and the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.”
He added that the U.S. will use “every tool in our arsenal to counter the threat and to deter China and those who have violated the rule of law and threaten our national security.”
Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.
SAN DIEGO >> Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material.
The two sailors, both based in California, were charged with similar moves to provide sensitive intelligence to the Chinese. But they were separate cases, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether the sailors were aware of each other’s actions.
Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities.
U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, bringing criminal cases in recent years against Beijing intelligence operatives who have stolen sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.
The pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security syllabus on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. officials said the cases exemplify China’s brazenness in trying to obtain insight into U.S. military operations.
“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government’s “determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage.”
Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of passing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.
Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, including the MV-22 Ospreys, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.
Wei continued to send sensitive U.S. military information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, Grossman said. He added that Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country” for greed.
The Justice Department charged Wei under a rarely-used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Wei did not visibly react when read the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what quite obviously is (expletive) espionage.”
Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement with the unnamed Chinese inelligence officer. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
The officer instructed Wei not to discuss their relationship, to share sensitive information and to destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said.
The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of San Diego, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at Navy facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.
The information included operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements.
The Associated Press was unable to reach the federal public defender assigned to Zhao, who pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles.
The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
It was unclear if federal officials were looking at other U.S. sailors and if the investigation was ongoing.
At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases.
U.S. Attorney Grossman said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity and the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.”
He added that the U.S. will use “every tool in our arsenal to counter the threat and to deter China and those who have violated the rule of law and threaten our national security.”
Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.
2 U.S. Navy sailors based in California arrested for espionage
Two US Navy sailors on active duty in southern California are under arrest over espionage charges.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The mother of a U.S. Navy sailor charged with providing sensitive military information to China encouraged him to cooperate with a Chinese intelligence officer, telling her son it might help him get a job with the Chinese government someday, the prosecution said Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard made the accusation at a hearing in federal court in San Diego in urging the judge not to release Jinchao Wei, who was arrested last week on a rarely used espionage charge.
Prosecutors did not name the woman in court. As a result of that The Associated Press could not try to find her or people who could comment on her behalf.
Wei is one of two sailors based in California accused of providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material. Prosecutors have not said whether the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme.
The Justice Department charged Wei, 22, under an Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
Both sailors have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors have said Wei, who was born in China, was first approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, prosecutors say he provided the officer detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.
In arguing against his release, Sheppard told the court on Tuesday that when Wei went home for Christmas to see his mother, who lives in Wisconsin, she was aware of her son’s arrangement. She also encouraged him to keep helping the Chinese intelligence officer because it might get him a job someday with China’s Communist party after he leaves the U.S. Navy, Sheppard said.
The AP asked Wei’s defense attorney Jason Conforti in an email if he could speak on behalf of Wei’s mother and provide a response to the prosecution’s allegations. The AP also asked if he could provide contact information for her. The attorney did not immediately respond to the email.
Sheppard told the court that the intelligence officer told Wei that he and the Chinese government were willing to fly him and his mother to China to meet them in person, and that Wei searched online for flights to China this spring.
Sheppard said the officer also told Wei to buy a computer and phone to pass the information, and that if Wei provided a receipt, the Chinese government would reimburse him for the expenses.
Conforti told the court that Wei is not a danger to the community and no longer has access to any military information.
Sheppard countered that Wei’s actions put thousands of sailors at risk by revealing sensitive information on Navy ships.
The judge ruled to keep him in federal custody without bond.
The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.
Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for information, photos and videos involving Navy exercises, operations and facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.
The information included plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, right, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in San Diego. Meg McLaughlin/AP hide caption
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, right, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in San Diego.
Meg McLaughlin/APSAN DIEGO — Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material.
The two sailors, both based in California, were charged with similar moves to provide sensitive intelligence to the Chinese. But they were separate cases, and it wasn't clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether the sailors were aware of each other's actions.
Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities.
U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, bringing criminal cases in recent years against Beijing intelligence operatives who have stolen sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.
The pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia's war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security syllabus on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. officials said the cases exemplify China's brazenness in trying to obtain insight into U.S. military operations.
"Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People's Republic of China," said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government's "determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage."
Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of passing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.
Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer's request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, including the MV-22 Ospreys, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.
Wei continued to send sensitive U.S. military information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, Grossman said. He added that Wei "chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country" for greed.
The Justice Department charged Wei under a rarely-used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Wei did not visibly react when read the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was "being recruited for what quite obviously is (expletive) espionage."
Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement with the unnamed Chinese inelligence officer. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
The officer instructed Wei not to discuss their relationship, to share sensitive information and to destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said.
The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of San Diego, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at Navy facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.
The information included operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements.
The Associated Press was unable to reach the federal public defender assigned to Zhao, who pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles.
The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
It was unclear if federal officials were looking at other U.S. sailors and if the investigation was ongoing.
At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, "I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken." He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases.
U.S. Attorney Grossman said the charges reflect that China "stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity and the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws."
He added that the U.S. will use "every tool in our arsenal to counter the threat and to deter China and those who have violated the rule of law and threaten our national security."
SAN DIEGO -- Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material.
The two sailors, both based in California, were charged with similar moves to provide sensitive intelligence to the Chinese. But they were separate cases, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether there is any tie between the cases.
Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities.
U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, bringing criminal cases in recent years against Beijing intelligence operatives who have stolen sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.
The pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security syllabus on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. officials said the cases exemplify China’s brazenness in trying to obtain insight into U.S. military operations.
“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” said Matt Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice. He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government’s “determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage.”
Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of providing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.
Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.
Wei continued to send sensitive information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. He added that whether for greed or some other reason, Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country.”
The Justice Department charged Wei under a rarely-used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Wei did not visibly react when read the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what is quite obviously (expletive) espionage.”
Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
The officer instructed Wei to hide their relationship and destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said.
The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for information, photos and videos of involving Navy exercises, operations and facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.
The information included plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements. The Chinese officer told Zhao the information was needed for maritime economic research to inform investment decisions, according to the indictment.
The Associated Press was unable to reach the federal public defender assigned to Zhao, who pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles.
The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
It was unclear if federal officials were looking at other U.S. sailors.
At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases.
Olsen said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity, and in the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.”
He added that the U.S. will use “every tool in our arsenal to counter the threat and to deter China and those who have violated the rule of law and threaten our national security.”
___
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of sailor Wenheng Zhao’s name. It also corrects attribution of quotes in 3rd, penultimate and ultimate graphs to Olsen instead of Grossman.
___
Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.
By JULIE WATSON and LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material.
The two sailors, both based in California, were charged with similar moves to provide sensitive intelligence to the Chinese. But they were separate cases, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether there is any tie between the cases.
Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities.
U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, bringing criminal cases in recent years against Beijing intelligence operatives who have stolen sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.
The pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security syllabus on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. officials said the cases exemplify China’s brazenness in trying to obtain insight into U.S. military operations.
“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” said Matt Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice. He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government’s “determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage.”
Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of providing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.
Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.
Wei continued to send sensitive information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. He added that whether for greed or some other reason, Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country.”
The Justice Department charged Wei under a rarely-used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.
After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Wei did not visibly react when read the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what is quite obviously (expletive) espionage.”
Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
The officer instructed Wei to hide their relationship and destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said.
The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for information, photos and videos of involving Navy exercises, operations and facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.
The information included plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements. The Chinese officer told Zhao the information was needed for maritime economic research to inform investment decisions, according to the indictment.
The Associated Press was unable to reach the federal public defender assigned to Zhao, who pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles.
The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
It was unclear if federal officials were looking at other U.S. sailors.
At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases.
Olsen said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity, and in the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.”
He added that the U.S. will use “every tool in our arsenal to counter the threat and to deter China and those who have violated the rule of law and threaten our national security.”
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of sailor Wenheng Zhao’s name. It also corrects attribution of quotes in 3rd, penultimate and ultimate graphs to Olsen instead of Grossman.
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Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.
