A former US Army sergeant was arrested on Friday for seeking to provideclassified information to China, the Justice Department said.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, who served in an army intelligence unit from2015 until 2020, is charged with retaining national defense information andattempting to deliver it to China.
The Justice Department said Schmidt, after leaving the military, offerednational defense information to the Chinese consulate in Turkey and theChinese security services.
In March 2020, Schmidt, who had access to secret and top secret informationwhile serving in the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at Joint BaseLewis-McChord in Washington state, went to Hong Kong, where he “continuedhis efforts to provide Chinese intelligence with classified information.”
“He allegedly retained a device that allows for access to secure militarycomputer networks and offered the device to Chinese authorities to assistthem in efforts to gain access to such networks,” the department said.
Schmidt stayed in China, primarily in Hong Kong, until his return to theUnited States on Friday. He was arrested upon arrival in San Francisco.
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“Members of our military take a sworn oath to defend our country and theConstitution,” acting US attorney Tessa Gorman said.
“In that context the alleged actions of this former military member areshocking – not only attempting to provide national defense information, butalso information that would assist a foreign adversary to gain access toDepartment of Defense secure computer networks.”
Schmidt could face up to 20 years in prison.
His arrest comes two months after two members of the US Navy were arrestedon suspicion of spying for China. -APP/AFP