An analyst for the US Army was detained and accused of providing China military secrets

According to Justice Department officials on Thursday, an Army soldier has been placed under arrest on charges of allegedly selling confidential information about US military capabilities.

A six-count indictment against Sgt. Korbein Schultz, an intelligence analyst, includes allegations of bribing a public official and plotting to acquire and reveal military defense secrets. Shortly after the indictment was made public on Thursday, the 24-year-old was taken into custody at Fort Campbell, which is located on the border between Tennessee and Kentucky.

The US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Henry C. Leventis, told reporters, “The men and women of the United States Armed Forces dedicate their lives to maintaining our national security.” “That task depends on our laws safeguarding national defense secrets, and those laws must be upheld. Information on national defense that is illegally disseminated endangers not just our nation but also our fellow citizens, service members, and allies.

The indictment claims that between June 2022 and June 2023, Schultz, who had a top-secret security clearance, conspired with a person known only as “Conspirator A” to release a number of papers, images, and other items related to national defense. According to the accusation, Schultz was hired by the person not only because of his security clearance but also because he was assigned to get classified US military data.

According to reports, Schultz provided the person with knowledge on a number of topics, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, hypersonic weapons, research on the US military’s future advances, and studies on military exercises and operations in powerful nations like China.

According to the indictment, Schultz was first requested to provide papers outlining the lessons that may be applied to the US assisting Taiwan in the case of an attack, based on Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. After receiving $200 from Schultz for the information, Conspirator A requested a “long-term partnership.”

Afterwards, Conspirator A—who the indictment identified as a foreign citizen claiming to be a resident of Hong Kong—suggested that Schultz might make more money by turning over “internal only” information as opposed to unclassified records.

Shultz got at least fourteen payments totaling forty-two thousand dollars.

Leventis said, “In order to conceal their illegal conduct, the defendant and his co-conspirator also discussed recruiting another member of the US military to join their conspiracy and to provide additional national defense information.”

Schultz is from Wills Point, Texas, and has been in the Army since November 2018, according to a statement from Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesman.