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“Former Soldier Indicted for Attempting to Pass National Defense Information to People’s Republic of China
Friday, October 6, 2023
For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
Defendant Arrested Upon Arrival in San Francisco on Flight from Hong Kong
A former U.S. Army Sergeant whose last duty post at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in western Washington was arrested today on an indictment charging him with two federal felonies: attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, will appear in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California later today and will be brought to the Western District of Washington for further court proceedings.

“Individuals entrusted with national defense information have a continuing duty to protect that information beyond their government service and certainly beyond our borders,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who violate that duty.”

“Joseph Daniel Schmidt was once a trusted guardian of our nation’s secrets and swore an oath to defend and protect U.S. national security,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “As alleged by the government, Schmidt betrayed his promise and potentially placed our nation at risk in his attempts to pass national defense information to Chinese security services. The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the American people and U.S. national security.”

“Members of our military take a sworn oath to defend our country and the Constitution. In that context the alleged actions of this former military member are shocking – not only attempting to provide national defense information, but also information that would assist a foreign adversary to gain access to Department of Defense secure computer networks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington. “I commend the FBI for their diligent work to end his alleged efforts to betray our country.”

According to records filed in the case, Schmidt was an active-duty soldier from January 2015 to January 2020. His primary assignment was at JBLM in the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion. In his role, Schmidt had access to SECRET and TOP SECRET information. After his separation from the military, Schmidt allegedly reached out to the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and later, the Chinese security services via email offering information about national defense information.

In March 2020, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong and allegedly continued his efforts to provide Chinese intelligence with classified information he obtained from his military service. He allegedly retained a device that allows for access to secure military computer networks and offered the device to Chinese authorities to assist them in efforts to gain access to such networks.

Schmidt remained in China, primarily Hong Kong, until this week when he scheduled to fly to San Francisco. He was arrested at the airport.

Attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information are both punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI is investigating the case, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg for the Western District of Washington and Deputy Chief Matthew J. McKenzie of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Schmidt Declaration https://www.justice.gov/media/1318381/dl?inline
 Schmidt Indictment https://www.justice.gov/media/1318376/dl?inline
Updated October 6, 2023” https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-soldier-indicted-attempting-pass-national-defense-information-peoples-republic-china

“An American veteran was arrested for trying to provide confidential information to China. October 7, 2023 04:14 (China), VOA
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday (October 6) that a former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer was arrested when he flew from Hong Kong to San Francisco on the same day. He was indicted by a grand jury and accused of attempting to submit defense information to the People’s Republic of China.

According to court documents, the arrested person is 29-year-old Joseph Daniel Schmidt, who served in the U.S. Army from January 2015 to January 2020 mainly at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in western Washington The 109th Military Intelligence Battalion of the Joint Base has the right to obtain confidential and top-secret information when it is in service. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/109th_Military_Intelligence_Battalion He was promoted to sergeant, and his service expired in January 2020 to become a non-active reserve.

According to court documents, while in active service, Schmidt received human intelligence training and Mandarin training, served as a human intelligence collector, and was promoted to team leader. https://www.justice.gov/media/1318381

His work directly supports the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which covers the Indian and Pacific regions, including the People’s Republic of China.

The Ministry of Justice said that according to the allegation, Schmidt contacted the Chinese consulate in Turkey after leaving the army, and later contacted the Chinese security agency by email, expressing his willingness to provide defense information.

The statement of the Ministry of Justice said that Schmidt went to Hong Kong in March 2020 and allegedly continued to try to provide Chinese intelligence with confidential information he obtained during his service. It is said that he retained a device that has access to a confidential military computer network. He expressed his willingness to provide the device to the Chinese authorities to assist them in their efforts to enter such networks.

The court documents have a more detailed description of Schmidt’s involvement.
According to court documents, in February 2020, Schmidt, who had just retired from active service, went to Turkey. https://www.justice.gov/media/1318381 During January and February, he searched the Internet for information about countries that allowed defection from the United States and countries that did not have extradition treaties with the United States.

While in Turkey, he wrote an email to the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul to introduce his military intelligence background and expressed his willingness to talk in detail with Chinese officials in person. He also established a Word document called “Important Information Sharing with the Chinese Government”, which contains information related to national defense considered by the U.S. military. He later sent emails to People’s Daily, China Daily and Phoenix TV to introduce his intelligence background and ask if they were interested in his military information.

While in Turkey, he also searched the Internet for the route from the airport to the headquarters of the Ministry of National Security in Beijing.

According to court documents, Schmidt returned to the United States from Turkey on March 2, 2020, and then left the United States for Hong Kong on March 6.

According to court documents, Schmidt left Hong Kong for Beijing on March 9, 2020 and returned to Hong Kong on March 12. While in Beijing, he searched for topics about intelligence and espionage on the Internet, and set up and revised a four-page Word document to talk about various aspects of the U.S. Army intelligence collection in detail. The day after he set up the document, his mobile phone showed that he was close to the headquarters of the Ministry of National Security. He later searched and checked the Internet for maps of several U.S. military facilities he had visited during his service.

Court documents say that he continued to engage in espionage after returning to Hong Kong. He modified the previous document and added the Chinese file name of “Senior Confidential”. He also wrote a introduction in Chinese, “Please make sure that the Ministry of National Security of the People’s Republic of China can receive it.” This content is a high-level secret about U.S. intelligence. The content is in English. Please ask a senior translator to translate it into Chinese to avoid language barriers.

It is said that Schmidt emphasized his military intelligence background in the document and asked China to believe him. He also photocopied his Army Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) card and his Army Shared Permission Card (CAC).

According to court documents, Schmidt searched for two Chinese state-owned enterprises on the Internet, one of which he identified as directly under the State Council of China and the other under the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. He sent emails to the public mailboxes of the two state-owned enterprises, saying that he had confidential U.S. intelligence and said that he wanted to give his PKI to the other party. He also sketched a map of the joint location.

Schmidt also wrote an email to his sister: “The real reason why I left the United States is that I don’t agree with American policies.”

 According to court documents, Schmidt has been seeking to work in China and apply for a work visa to permanently relocate to China. However, due to various factors such as China’s COVID epidemic prevention measures, it has been difficult for him to obtain a visa from the People’s Republic of China. In July 2020, two weeks before he sent an email to the second Chinese state-owned enterprise, the Hong Kong immigration authorities informed him that his visa had expired and his application for extension was rejected. The Hong Kong immigration authorities finally allowed him to be released on bail on a personal bond to clarify the visa matters. He got a work visa from the People’s Republic of China on August 7, 2020. Schmidt then asked the Hong Kong immigration authorities to return his passport.

Schmidt has since been seeking to straighten out his legal immigration status while waiting to move to China.

The Justice Department said in a statement on Friday that Schmidt stayed in Hong Kong until he made plans to fly to San Francisco this week. He was arrested at the airport.

 Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Secretary of Justice for National Security Affairs Olsen) said in the statement: “People entrusted with defense information have a continuous responsibility to protect such information beyond the time limit for their service to the government, and of course beyond our borders.”

Acting Federal Prosecutor Tessa M. Gorman of the Western District of Washington Gorman) said in a statement: “Members of our army swear to defend the country and the Constitution. In this context, the former member of the army allegedly engaged in shocking behavior – not only in an attempt to provide defense information, but also in assisting foreign opponents to enter the confidential computer network of the Ministry of Defense. Gorman thanked the FBI for investigating the case.

Schmidt was charged by a grand jury with two felony crimes: attempting to submit defense information and retaining defense information. https://www.justice.gov/media/1318376

The maximum penalty for each crime is 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

The statement of the Ministry of Justice mentioned that the indictment only alleges that all defendants were presumed innocent until the court ruled out reasonable suspicions and convicted them.

Just two months before the arrest of former U.S. Army sergeant Schmidt, two active members of the U.S. Navy were arrested and prosecuted for espionage in China. https://www.voachinese.com/a/two-us-sailors-arrested-for-spying-for-china-20230803/7210810.html

 U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei was arrested on August 2 on charges of espionage. Wei Jinchao is the U.S. Navy’s Essex (U.S.S. Essex) soldiers on the amphibious assault ship, allegedly at the request of a Chinese intelligence officer, sent photos and videos of the warship from March 2022 to the time of his arrest, disclosed the locations of various naval ships, and described the defensive weapons of the Essex. In exchange for this information, Chinese intelligence officials paid Wei thousands of dollars.

At the same time, Vice Admiral Zhao Wenheng Zhao was also arrested and prosecuted. He works at the Wentura County Naval Base in Port Wynemy near Los Angeles, California. It is said that from August 2021 to at least May 2023, Zhao Wenheng received bribes from Chinese intelligence officials, secretly recorded and transmitted U.S. military information, photos and videos to the intelligence officer. Chinese intelligence officials allegedly paid him about $14,000” Original Chinese here. Translation may not be exact: https://www.voachinese.com/a/former-soldier-indicted-for-attempting-to-pass-national-defense-information-to-people-s-republic-of-china-20231006/7300245.html