Former JBLM soldier sentenced to 4 years for sharing military secrets with China

Former JBLM soldier sentenced to 4 years in prison for sharing military secrets with China

A former Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was sentenced to four years in prison for trying to share military secrets with China.

SEATTLE - A former U.S. Army soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord was sentenced to four years in prison for trying to share military secrets with China.

Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, pleaded guilty to two felonies for offering classified information to the Chinese government, along with a device that could gain access to secure military computer networks.

Joseph Daniel Schmidt (U.S. Army photo)

Timeline:

Schmidt flew to China shortly after leaving the military in January 2020. He last served as a sergeant at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion.

In his role, Schmidt had access to top secret information about national defense services, which he tried to provide to Chinese intelligence.

Schmidt made several lengthy documents describing various "high level secrets," and also offered a device that could assist Chinese authorities in accessing the U.S. military's computer networks.

After obtaining a work visa, Schmidt remained in China for over three years until October 2023, when he flew to San Francisco and was arrested at the airport.

Schmidt pleaded guilty to attempting to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information back in June.

A U.S. District judge sentenced Schmidt to four years in prison and three years of supervised release.

"As a retired Army officer, I find it unconscionable for a former soldier to put his colleagues and country at risk by peddling secret information and intelligence access to a hostile foreign power," said U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. "These cases remain a priority for our office to keep our country safe."

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.

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