Federal prosecutors said in an indictment released on Thursday and obtained by CBS News that an active duty Army officer and intelligence analyst provided China secret military papers pertaining to the United States' defense of Taiwan, weaponry, and missile defense systems for more than a year.
According to the allegations, Sergeant Korbein Schultz downloaded confidential U.S. government information using his top secret security clearance at the request of an unidentified person claiming to reside in Hong Kong, supposedly earning $42,000 in the process.
He faces six charges, including conspiracy and bribery, after his arrest on Thursday. Schultz was an intelligence analyst and sergeant assigned to the 506th Infantry Battalion, according to court documents. Schultz, 24, of Willis Point, Texas, has been serving in the Army since November 2018, according to the Army.
Although the Chinese government is not mentioned in the court papers as the scheme's creators or as the beneficiary of the material, a large portion of the military data Schutlz is said to have shared concerns that nation.
Prosecutors claim that Schultz and his accomplice started using encrypted messaging apps and the internet for communication in June 2022. According to court records, he was told to give his handler priority when it came to providing "original and exclusive documents," which included details on Russia's battle in Ukraine and the "operabitly of sensitive U.S. military systems and their capabilities."
The two supposedly decided to form a committed relationship.
Investigators said that by July 2022, Schultz was communicating with others on High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems—the kind of weaponry the US has been supplying to Ukraine in opposition to Russia. Additionally, he is charged with sending confidential papers pertaining to hypersonic technology and reports of US military exercises in August 2022.
According to court filings, Schutlz agreed with the unidentified co-conspirator's requests for particular documents over the course of many months, selling dozens of private information for thousands of dollars at a time. It seems that his objective was money. Schultz reportedly said to his handler in one chat, "I need to get my other BMW back."
Prosecutors said that he wrote to the coconspirator, "I will just keep sending you an abundance of information," and subsequently expressed a want to draw comparisons between himself and the mythical spy played by novelist Robert Ludlum, Jason Bourne.
By August 2023, Schultz, whose duties included training others on how to handle secret material, had spoken with his Chinese handler about the two U.S. Navy sailors who had been arrested separately that same month on suspicion of sending critical material to China.
Court filings revealed that Schultz's other accomplices cautioned him to exercise caution. Moreover, the handler allegedly urged Schultz to discuss employment "for the next year" in November 2023, according to the prosecution.
Days before, in one of the most catastrophic leak operations in military history, Jack Texeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, entered a guilty plea for unlawfully publishing secret military documents on an online gaming platform.
Additionally, on Tuesday, an Air Force official was accused of providing a foreign dating site user with secret material pertaining to Russia's conflict in Ukraine.
According to the allegations, Sergeant Korbein Schultz downloaded confidential U.S. government information using his top secret security clearance at the request of an unidentified person claiming to reside in Hong Kong, supposedly earning $42,000 in the process.
He faces six charges, including conspiracy and bribery, after his arrest on Thursday. Schultz was an intelligence analyst and sergeant assigned to the 506th Infantry Battalion, according to court documents. Schultz, 24, of Willis Point, Texas, has been serving in the Army since November 2018, according to the Army.
Although the Chinese government is not mentioned in the court papers as the scheme's creators or as the beneficiary of the material, a large portion of the military data Schutlz is said to have shared concerns that nation.
Prosecutors claim that Schultz and his accomplice started using encrypted messaging apps and the internet for communication in June 2022. According to court records, he was told to give his handler priority when it came to providing "original and exclusive documents," which included details on Russia's battle in Ukraine and the "operabitly of sensitive U.S. military systems and their capabilities."
The two supposedly decided to form a committed relationship.
Investigators said that by July 2022, Schultz was communicating with others on High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems—the kind of weaponry the US has been supplying to Ukraine in opposition to Russia. Additionally, he is charged with sending confidential papers pertaining to hypersonic technology and reports of US military exercises in August 2022.
According to court filings, Schutlz agreed with the unidentified co-conspirator's requests for particular documents over the course of many months, selling dozens of private information for thousands of dollars at a time. It seems that his objective was money. Schultz reportedly said to his handler in one chat, "I need to get my other BMW back."
Prosecutors said that he wrote to the coconspirator, "I will just keep sending you an abundance of information," and subsequently expressed a want to draw comparisons between himself and the mythical spy played by novelist Robert Ludlum, Jason Bourne.
By August 2023, Schultz, whose duties included training others on how to handle secret material, had spoken with his Chinese handler about the two U.S. Navy sailors who had been arrested separately that same month on suspicion of sending critical material to China.
Court filings revealed that Schultz's other accomplices cautioned him to exercise caution. Moreover, the handler allegedly urged Schultz to discuss employment "for the next year" in November 2023, according to the prosecution.
Days before, in one of the most catastrophic leak operations in military history, Jack Texeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, entered a guilty plea for unlawfully publishing secret military documents on an online gaming platform.
Additionally, on Tuesday, an Air Force official was accused of providing a foreign dating site user with secret material pertaining to Russia's conflict in Ukraine.
