A former Military sergeant who as soon as held high secret clearance at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state was sentenced Tuesday to 4 years in federal jail for trying to supply nationwide protection data to China.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, pleaded responsible in June to trying to ship and retain labeled materials, based on the Division of Justice (DOJ). US District Choose John C. Coughenour additionally ordered three years of supervised launch.
Schmidt’s sentencing comes as US authorities warn of rising efforts by China to recruit or exploit former navy personnel with entry to delicate data.
“As a retired Military officer, I discover it unconscionable for a former soldier to place his colleagues and nation in danger by peddling secret data and intelligence entry to a hostile overseas energy,” Performing US Lawyer Charles Neil Floyd mentioned.
Schmidt enlisted in 2015 and served within the Military’s 109th Army Intelligence Battalion till 2020.
Prosecutors mentioned he had entry to each secret and high secret programs and later contacted Chinese language consular officers after leaving the Military.
Courtroom information present Schmidt created a number of paperwork based mostly on labeled materials and provided them to Chinese language safety companies.
He additionally stored a tool able to accessing safe Military networks, which prosecutors mentioned he provided to Chinese language officers.
After leaving the Military, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong in March 2020 and continued corresponding with Chinese language contacts.
He lived there for greater than three years earlier than flying to San Francisco in October 2023, the place he was arrested. He pleaded responsible in June 2025 and was sentenced Tuesday in Seattle.
Coughenour mentioned he weighed “the seriousness of Schmidt’s crime and his psychological well being on the time.” A DOJ spokesperson confirmed to Fox Information Digital the choose thought of Schmidt’s psychological well being as a mitigating issue throughout sentencing.
The company mentioned Schmidt’s separation from the Military adopted a psychological well being episode, and officers added that no labeled materials was believed to have reached China.
“The FBI and our companions will stay vigilant in our mission to safeguard our nation,” mentioned W. Mike Herrington, particular agent in command of the Seattle discipline workplace.
Assistant US Lawyer Todd Greenberg mentioned Schmidt “created paperwork based mostly on labeled and nationwide protection data.
He used his coaching to supply delicate data to the Chinese language safety service. He knew what he was doing was mistaken. He was doing internet searches for things like ‘Are you able to be extradited for treason.’”
The FBI investigated the case with help supplied by the US Military Counterintelligence Command (USACC).
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Seattle Subject Workplace with help from the USACC.
The Military didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
