The FBI arrested two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers and one veteran on Thursday for alleged bribery and theft of government property as part of a plot to sell classified national defense information to China.
“While bribery and corruption have thrived under China’s Communist Party, this behavior cannot be tolerated with our service members who are entrusted with sensitive military information, including national defense information,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.
“The FBI and our partners will continue to work to uncover attempts by those in China to steal sensitive U.S. military information and hold all accountable who play a role in betraying our national defense,” he added.
One defendant, Jian Zhao, stationed at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, faces charges for allegedly conspiring to transmit national defense data to China. The other defendants, Li Tian, stationed with Zhao, and Ruoyu Duan, a veteran, face charges for allegedly conspiring to commit bribery and stealing government property.
Duan and Tian, beginning in November 2021 and continuing until at least December 2024, allegedly conspired with other unnamed accomplices to acquire sensitive information on Army capabilities, including technical information manuals on Army vehicles such as the Bradley and Stryker U.S. Army fighting vehicles.
Tian allegedly sold the information to Duan for an unspecified amount of money. The U.S. Department of Justice did not reveal what Duan allegedly did with the information after receiving it from Tian.
Zhao allegedly conspired to sell sensitive information, including stolen hard drives and documents, to an unknown Chinese buyer. He allegedly received $10,000 for the sale of 20 hard drives and also, according to his indictment, attempted to sell information on the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), data on U.S. preparations for a potential conflict with China, and a stolen computer capable of reading encrypted files.
He allegedly received $15,000 in total for his involvement in the conspiracy.
The FBI worked alongside the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command to investigate the case.
“These arrests underscore the persistent and increasing foreign intelligence threat facing our Army and nation,” said Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, Commanding General at Army Counterintelligence Command.
