- A US Army soldier was accused of selling military secrets to a contact in China on Thursday.
- The DOJ said Sergeant Korbein Schultz received around $42,000 for his work.
- Schultz told his contact that he wished he could be like Jason Bourne, a fictional CIA assassin.
A 24-year-old US Army sergeant and intelligence analyst has been charged with selling military secrets to a contact in China on Thursday.
The Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday that Sergeant Korbein Schultz has been accused of taking around $42,000 from a contact who lived in Hong Kong. The contact told Schultz that he worked for a geopolitical consulting firm based overseas, per the DOJ,
“As part of the conspiracy, the defendant provided sensitive government information to his coconspirator in exchange for thousands of dollars, placing personal profit above the security of the American people,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said in the press release.
Schultz corresponded with this person between June 2022 and October 2023, per court documents. The contact initially asked Schultz what the US had learned from the Ukraine war and how Russia’s invasion might affect US plans to defend Taiwan during an attack.
Schultz provided his contact with information on US weapons like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, studies on major countries like China, and summaries of military operations, per the documents.
“I will just keep sending you an abundance of information,” Schultz told the conspirator in August 2022, per the DOJ.
Schultz told the conspirator in the same month that he wished he could be like Jason Bourne, a fictional CIA assassin created by author Robert Ludlum. The character was popularized by a series of films starring Matt Damon as the titular character.
Schultz has been charged with six counts, including bribery and conspiracy.
This isn’t the first time US military personnel have been charged for handing over military secrets to foreigners.
In January, a US Navy sailor was fined $5,500 and sentenced to 27 months in prison for leaking confidential military plans to Chinese intelligence. Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, had received just under $15,000 in bribes for providing the information.
