The U.S. Justice Department released the information below:
A former U.S. Army intelligence analyst was sentenced today to
84 months in prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defense
information, including sensitive, non-public U.S. military information, to an
individual he believed was affiliated with the Chinese government.
Korbein Schultz
(seen in the above photo), 25, of Wills Point, Texas, pleaded
guilty in August 2024 to conspiring to collect and transmit
national defense information, unlawfully exporting controlled information to
China, and accepting bribes in exchange of sensitive, non-public U.S.
government information.
“This defendant
swore an oath to defend the United States — instead, he betrayed it for a
payout and put America’s military and service members at risk,” said Attorney
General Pamela Bondi. “The Justice Department remains vigilant against China’s
efforts to target our military and will ensure that those who leak military
secrets spend years behind bars.”
“This sentencing
is a stark warning to those who betray our country: you will pay a steep price
for it,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The People’s Republic of China is
relentless in its efforts to steal our national defense information, and
service members are a prime target. The FBI and our partners will continue to
root out espionage and hold those accountable who abandon their obligation to
safeguard defense information from hostile foreign governments.”
“Those who
collaborate with America’s foreign adversaries put our country, and those who
defend it, at grave risk and we will do whatever it takes to hold them
accountable for their crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire for
the Middle District of Tennessee. “We will proudly stand in support of our men
and women in uniform and work diligently to protect them from people like the
defendant who would sell them out for a few bucks.”
“Protecting
classified information is paramount to our national security, and this
sentencing reflects the ramifications when there is a breach of that trust,”
said Brigadier General Rhett R. Cox, Commanding General of the Army
Counterintelligence Command. “This Soldier’s actions put Army personnel at risk
placing individual gain above personal honor. Army Counterintelligence Command,
in close collaboration with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and the Intelligence Community, remains steadfast in our
commitment to safeguarding our nation’s secrets and urges all current and
former Army personnel to report any suspicious contact immediately.”
According to
court documents, between May 2022 until his arrest in March 2024, Schultz
engaged in an ongoing conspiracy to provide dozens of sensitive U.S. military
documents — many containing export-controlled tactical and technical
information — directly to a foreign national residing in the People’s Republic
of China. Despite clear indications that this individual, who is referenced in
the Indictment as Conspirator A, was likely connected to the Chinese
government, the defendant continued the relationship in exchange for financial
compensation. In exchange for approximately $42,000, Schultz provided documents
and data related to U.S. military capabilities, including:
- His Army unit’s operational order before it was
deployed to Eastern Europe in support of NATO operations;
- Lessons learned by the U.S. Army from the
Ukraine/Russia conflict applicable to Taiwan’s defense;
- Technical manuals for the HH-60 helicopter, F-22A
fighter aircraft, and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile systems;
- Information on Chinese military tactics and the
People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force;
- Details on U.S. military exercises in the
Republic of Korea and the Philippines;
- Documents concerning U.S. military satellites and
missile defense systems like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
(HIMARS) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
- Tactics for countering unmanned aerial systems in
large-scale combat operations.
Conspirator A
first contacted the defendant through a freelance web-based work platform
shortly after the defendant received his Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented
Information (TS/SCI) clearance. Masquerading as a client from a geopolitical
consulting firm, Conspirator A solicited the defendant to produce detailed
analyses on U.S. military capabilities and planning, particularly in relation
to Taiwan and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
As the
relationship progressed, Conspirator A’s demands grew increasingly specific and
sensitive — requesting technical manuals, operational procedures, and
intelligence assessments. Conspirator A made explicit his interest in materials
that were not publicly available and encouraged the defendant to seek out
higher levels of classification, emphasizing “exclusiveness” and “CUI and
better.” Schultz agreed to obtain higher levels of classified information
for Conspirator A in exchange for money.
The defendant,
fully aware of the grave national security implications, used his position and
access to restricted databases — including closed U.S. government computer
networks — to download and transmit at least 92 sensitive U.S. military
documents.
The case also
revealed attempts by the defendant to recruit his friend and fellow Army
intelligence analyst into the conspiracy. At the time, Schultz’s friend was
assigned to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM),
which is the combatant command that covers China and its regional areas of
influence. Schultz and Conspirator A discussed the need to recruit another
person into their scheme who had better access to classified material. They
agreed that such recruitment needed to be done in a “nice and slow fashion.”
The FBI’s
Nashville Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the
U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command and the Department of Defense.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Adam Barry and Christopher Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.
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