Wenheng Zhao biography: 13 things about US Navy sailor from Monterey Park, California

Wenheng Zhao is a resident of Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, California, United States. He was a U.S. Navy sailor assigned to the U.S. Naval Construction Group 1 in Port Hueneme, Ventura County, California. 

As a petty officer in the U.S. Navy, Zhao was responsible for installing, repairing servicing electrical equipment on U.S. military installations. While holding a U.S. security clearance, he allegedly received bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for violating his official duties as a U.S. Navy sailor.

Between August 2021 and May 2023, Zhao allegedly conspired to collect around $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at U.S. Navy facilities. From November 1, 2021 through March 28, 2023, he received at least $14,866.76 from a conspirator.

Zhao speaks Chinese and English and he is also known as Thomas Zhao. Here are 13 more things about him:  

1. From January 2016 to August 2016, he was a self-employed travel agent in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County.
2. In April 2017, he joined the U.S. Navy.
3. In May 2020, he entered American Military University in Killeen, Texas, USA to pursue a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity.
4. On August 12, 2021, a conspirator instructed him to gather information about a large-scale military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region. On August 13, 2021, while on San Clemente Island in Los Angeles County, he took a photo of a diagram called Large Scale Exercise 2021 Pacific NFC CONOPS, which was marked controlled unclassified information (CUI). On August 14, 2021, he sent the photo to a Chinese intelligence officer. On August 16, 2021, he took 12 photos of computer screens that displayed operation orders of U.S. military training exercises.
5. The Chinese intelligence officer sent him ¥7,406.8 ($1,157.76) on November 1, 2021 and ¥5,000 ($781.56) on November 6, 2021. On November 17, 2021, while on Port Hueneme, he took five photos of diagrams and blueprints outlining the electrical system in the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (GATOR) storage that housed the GATOR systems located at a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan. Each document was marked unclassified and for official use only.
6. On January 14, 2022, he received ¥24,685 ($3,885.69) from the Chinese intelligence officer.
7. On June 28, 2022, he received ¥3,500 ($522.01) from the Chinese intelligence officer.
8. On August 29, 2022, he received ¥3,500 ($522.01) from the Chinese intelligence officer, who sent him ¥14,000 ($2,011.81) on September 7, 2022 and ¥3,500 ($522.01) on September 29, 2022.
9. On October 17, 2022, he sent to the Chinese intelligence officer 16 files that contained sensitive operations security (OPSEC) information from the U.S. Navy that were marked controlled unclassified information (CUI). The officer sent him ¥4,00 ($551.72) on October 27, 2022, ¥10,000 ($1,393.65) on November 25, 2022, ¥4,000 ($627.23) on November 26, 2022 and ¥4,500 ($663.08) on January 10, 2023.
10. In February 2023, he became a training instructor at the U.S. Naval Construction Group 1 in Port Hueneme. The Chinese intelligence officer sent him ¥8,500 ($1,261.33) on February 2, 2023, ¥3,500 ($502.84) on February 27, 2023 and ¥3,500 ($508.66) on March 28, 2023.
11. On August 2, 2023, Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents arrested him. On August 3, 2023, he was arraigned in Los Angeles.
12. On October 10, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiring with an intelligence officer and receipt of a bribe by a public official. 
13. He was 26 years old when he was sentenced on January 8, 2024 to 27 months in jail. He was ordered to pay a $5,500 fine.