A US Army solider and intelligence analyst pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, alongside other related charges.
Korbein Schultz, who was an intelligence analyst in the US Army at the time of the conspiracy, had access to top-secret and sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI).
Schultz shared this information with a person who lived in Hong Kong and was suspected of being affiliated with the Chinese Government (Conspirator A).
The Department of Justice said that Schultz, who was financially motivated, conspired with Conspirator A to share information related to national defense, including classified information and export-controlled technical data related to US military weapons systems.
The US Army soldier entered into this agreement with Conspirator A despite being expected to protect national defense information and classified information, as well as control unclassified information.
Furthermore, he was expected to report suspicious incidents, including the dissemination of unclassified information to unauthorized individuals.
Conspirator A requested information from Schultz specifically related to missile defense and mobile artillery systems.
Before the US soldier was apprehended by law enforcement, he successfully delivered “dozens of sensitive and restricted US military documents regarding a variety of US military weapons systems and US military tactics and strategy, including documents containing export-controlled technical data,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
The specific information within these documents included information about the Ukraine/Russia war, the deployment of the US Army soldier’s unit in Eastern Europe, and an Air Force Tactics, Techniques, and Procedure (AFTTP) document containing technical data subject to export controls.
Schultz sent the supposed Chinese Government agent 11 different types of confidential data throughout the conspiracy, and he was paid roughly $42,000.
The US Army officer has pleaded guilty to 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.
For these crimes, Schultz could face a maximum of 65 years in prison for all charges against him. Schultz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 23rd, 2025.
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