Two U.S. Military troopers in Washington State and a former soldier have been arrested on Thursday on bribery and theft expenses, accused in separate federal indictments of conspiring to acquire and promote delicate authorities data, the Justice Division stated.
The defendants have been recognized as First Lt. Li Tian, a well being providers administrator; Sgt. Jian Zhao, a provide sergeant assigned to the seventeenth Area Artillery Brigade; and Ruoyu Duan, of Hillsboro, Ore. who served within the Military from 2013 to 2017. The 2 troopers have been stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
One indictment filed on Wednesday within the U.S. District Courtroom of Oregon accused Lieutenant Tian of conspiring with Mr. Duan, the previous soldier, from November 2021 by December of final 12 months to secretly collect labeled details about the Military’s operations, together with technical manuals.
Lieutenant Tian gathered delicate data regarding the Bradley and Stryker armored automobiles utilized by the Military and despatched that data to Mr. Duan in alternate for cash, federal prosecutors stated.
Sergeant Zhao was accused in a separate indictment, filed in U.S. District Courtroom for the Western District of Washington on Wednesday, of conspiring to acquire and promote almost two dozen onerous drives, some marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET,” to patrons in China. The indictment says that Sergeant Zhao accepted funds totaling not less than $15,000 beginning in about July 2024.
“The defendants arrested immediately are accused of betraying our nation, actively working to weaken America’s protection capabilities and empowering our adversaries in China,” Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi stated in a information launch saying the arrests. “They’ll face swift, extreme and complete justice.”
It was not instantly clear if any of the defendants had legal professionals.
Lieutenant Tian and Mr. Duan have been charged with conspiracy to commit an offense towards the USA, bribery of a public official and theft of presidency property. Sergeant Zhao was charged with conspiracy to collect nationwide protection data, bribery of a public official and theft of presidency property.
In a single encrypted alternate from October, Sergeant Zhao instructed an unnamed co-conspirator that he had the “great things,” in accordance with his indictment.
“Very delicate doc. Tremendous troublesome to get,” he stated, referring to a doc about HIMARS, a truck-mounted multiple-rocket launcher. He priced the file at $3,000. He haggled with a purchaser over the value of two paperwork earlier than deciding on $6,500.
In keeping with the Justice Division, these paperwork contained unclassified however delicate details about rocket methods and army readiness within the occasion of an armed battle with China. In different situations, he bought onerous drives marked “TOP SECRET” or “SECRET” to patrons in China, federal prosecutors stated. The precise contents of these onerous drives weren’t disclosed within the indictment.
“These arrests underscore the persistent and rising overseas intelligence menace dealing with our Military and nation,” Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, the commanding normal of the Military Counterintelligence Command, stated within the information launch.
