A federal jury in San Diego has found U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei guilty of spying for China, concluding a case prosecutors said exposed critical vulnerabilities in the Pacific Fleet. Wei, 25, was convicted on six charges—including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and four counts tied to the Arms Export Control Act—after a five-day trial and one day of deliberations in U.S. District Court. Evidence showed that while serving as a machinist’s mate aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, Wei used his security clearance to turn over thousands of pages of technical and operating manuals, photographs and ship locations to a Chinese intelligence officer. Prosecutors said the officer, first contacting Wei via social media in February 2022, paid the sailor more than $12,000 over an 18-month period for information that included the Essex’s weapons systems, propulsion details and readiness of other U.S. vessels. Investigators from the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service testified that Wei employed encrypted messaging apps, digital dead-drops and multiple online accounts to conceal the relationship. He was arrested in August 2023 when he arrived for duty in San Diego. The jury acquitted Wei on a single count of naturalization fraud. Wei faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine on the espionage counts, with additional penalties possible under export-control violations. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff scheduled sentencing for Dec. 1.