A U.S. Army intelligence analyst pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to sell military secrets to China, the Justice Department said.
Korbein Schultz was charged in March with conspiracy to disclose defense information, unauthorized export of defense articles and technical data, and bribery of a public official.
Schultz, who had a top-secret clearance, conspired with a person living in Hong Kong whom he suspected of being linked to the Chinese government to collect national defense intelligence, including classified information and export-controlled technical data related to U.S. military weapons systems, in return for money, according to indictment and plea documents.
“Governments like China are aggressively targeting our military personnel and national security intelligence, and we will do everything in our power to ensure the intelligence is protected from hostile foreign governments,” FBI Assistant Director Robert Wells said in a statement.
Before his arrest, Schultz sent dozens of sensitive and unclassified military documents, the Justice Department said.
Among the items collected and sent by Schultz were a document discussing lessons the Army had learned from the Russo-Ukrainian war that it would use to defend Taiwan, documents related to Chinese military tactics, and a document related to U.S. military satellites.
According to the department, Schultz received about $42,000 for the information.
“By conspiring to disclose national defense information to a person outside the United States, this defendant recklessly jeopardized our national security in order to exploit the trust our military placed in him,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.
Schultz’s sentencing is scheduled for January 23, 2025.
