SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) A U.S. Navy sailor stationed at Naval Base San Diego who agreed to sell Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000 was convicted Wednesday.

Jinchao Wei, 25, was found guilty of six crimes, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release. He was found not guilty of one count of naturalization fraud.

“According to evidence presented at trial, Wei, in his role as a machinist’s mate, held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems,” the DOJ said. “Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the U.S. military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the U.S. Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.”

On Feb. 14, 2022, Wei was recruited on social media by a Chinese intelligence who portrayed himself as a naval enthusiast working for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation,

A little over a week later, Wei told a friend who was also in the U.S. Navy he was in contact with an individual who was “extremely suspicious” and thought that he was “on the radar of a China intelligence organization.”

The next day, Wei communicated with the intelligence officer through a different encrypted messaging application that he believed was more secure and began spying for the intelligence officer, per the DOJ.

Between March 2022 and when Wei was arrested on espionage charges as he arrived for work on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego in August 2023, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, advised the officer of the location of various Navy ships and described the defensive weapons of the Essex at the request of the intelligence officer, the evidence revealed.

Wei received more than $12,000 over 18 months in exchange for the information.

Wei is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1 at 9 a.m.