TAIPEI (Taiwan News)— A US Army intelligence analyst pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Aug. 13) to charges accusing him of selling sensitive military information to China.
Korbein Schultz, 24, pleaded guilty to all charges against him, namely “conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official,” according to a US Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Schultz held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance from the US State Department. “The defendant abused his access to restricted government systems to sell sensitive military information,” the press release said.
The former intelligence analyst conspired with an individual who lived in Hong Kong, suspected of being associated with the Chinese government. He collected classified information related to US military weapons systems, satellites, drone tactics, as well as US studies on China’s military drills and operations, and transmitted that knowledge to the individual in exchange for money.
Schultz had resent “dozens of sensitive and restricted - but unclassified - military documents” and was paid approximately US$42,000 (NT$1.36 million), according to the DOJ. This included documents containing “lessons learned by the Army from the Russia-Ukraine war that it would apply in a defense of Taiwan.”
“Governments like China are aggressively targeting our military personnel and national security information,” said FBI Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells. “We will do everything in our power to ensure that information is safeguarded.”
The defendant faces maximum prison sentences of 10 years for conspiracy to obtain and transmit national defense information, 20 years for exporting technical data to China, 20 years for violating the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and 15 years for bribery of a public official. His sentencing is scheduled for January 2025.
