The FBI arrested two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers and a veteran on Thursday, accusing them of bribery and theft of government property in an alleged scheme 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,” stated FBI Director Kash Patel.
He further emphasized the FBI’s commitment to countering espionage attempts, saying, “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.”
One of the accused, Jian Zhao, was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. He is charged with allegedly conspiring to transmit classified national defense data to China. The other two individuals, Li Tian, also stationed at the same base, and Ruoyu Duan, a military veteran, face charges related to conspiracy to commit bribery and theft of government property.
The alleged scheme, which began in November 2021 and continued until at least December 2024, involved Tian and Duan working with unidentified accomplices to acquire sensitive military data. This included technical manuals related to U.S. Army vehicles, such as the Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles.
According to authorities, Tian allegedly sold this information to Duan for an undisclosed sum. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has not specified what Duan did with the classified materials after receiving them.
Zhao is accused of attempting to sell stolen documents and hard drives containing sensitive information to an unidentified Chinese buyer. Prosecutors allege that he was paid $10,000 in exchange for 20 hard drives. His indictment also claims that he tried to sell data regarding the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), intelligence on U.S. military preparations for potential conflicts with China, and a stolen computer capable of decrypting classified files.
Zhao allegedly received a total of $15,000 for his participation in the scheme.
The FBI conducted the investigation in collaboration with the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.
“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.