A former U.S. Army sergeant, aged 31, was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempting to provide classified national-defense information to Chinese contacts. The individual, Joseph Daniel Schmidt, served from 2015 to 2020 in the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion and held both Secret and Top Secret clearances while stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Court documents indicate that shortly after his discharge, Schmidt created documents derived from classified military data and contacted Chinese intelligence officials. He traveled to Hong Kong in March 2020 and remained abroad for over three years, where he continued his correspondence with Chinese agents. Investigators say he retained a device capable of accessing secure U.S. military networks and allegedly offered it to Chinese authorities.
Authorities also weighed evidence of Schmidt’s mental-health history during sentencing; records show he had been discharged following a noted mental-health episode. Although prosecutors found no indication that classified material was successfully transferred to China, they emphasised that Schmidt knowingly pursued the illicit exchange and researched legal risks for treason online.
The FBI’s Seattle Field Office and the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command led the investigation, which culminated in Schmidt’s October 2023 arrest when he returned to the United States. He has also been ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.