An active-duty U.S. Navy sailor was convicted of espionage by a federal jury on Wednesday, according to a Department of Justice press release.

Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Jinchao Wei, 25, who was stationed at Naval Base San Diego, sold Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000 over the course of 18 months.

“The defendant’s actions represent an egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military,” Adam Gordon, the United States attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement on Wednesday. “By trading military secrets to the People’s Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies.”

Wei was convicted of six crimes, including consp

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