U.S. Army Analyst Admits to Selling Classified Military Secrets to China

A U.S. Army intelligence analyst pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of conspiring to sell military secrets to China, according to the Department of Justice.

Korbein Schultz, who was charged in March, admitted to conspiring to disclose national defense information, exporting defense articles and technical data without a license, and bribery of a public official. Schultz, who held top-secret clearance, collaborated with an individual in Hong Kong—whom he suspected of having ties to the Chinese government—to provide classified and export-controlled information related to U.S. military weapons systems in exchange for money, as per the charging and plea documents.

FBI Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells emphasized the seriousness of the case, stating, “Governments like China are aggressively targeting our military personnel and national security information, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that information is safeguarded from hostile foreign governments.”

Before his arrest, Schultz sent numerous sensitive and restricted, but unclassified, military documents. Among the information he provided were documents discussing the Army’s lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war that could be applied in a defense of Taiwan, details on Chinese military tactics, and information regarding U.S. military satellites. Schultz was paid approximately $42,000 for the information, according to the Department of Justice.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen condemned Schultz’s actions, saying, “By conspiring to transmit national defense information to a person living outside the United States, this defendant callously put our national security at risk to cash in on the trust our military placed in him.”

Schultz is scheduled to be sentenced on January 23, 2025.