Ex-Army sergeant sentenced for trying to give state secrets to China after mental health spiral

A former Army sergeant who once held top secret clearance at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state was sentenced Tuesday to four years in federal prison for attempting to provide national defense information to China.

Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, pleaded guilty in June to attempting to deliver and retain classified material, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). US District Judge John C. Coughenour also ordered three years of supervised release.

Schmidt’s sentencing comes as US authorities warn of growing efforts by China to recruit or exploit former military personnel with access to sensitive information.

“As a retired Army officer, I find it unconscionable for a former soldier to put his colleagues and country at risk by peddling secret information and intelligence access to a hostile foreign power,” Acting US Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said.

Schmidt enlisted in 2015 and served in the Army’s 109th Military Intelligence Battalion until 2020.

Prosecutors said he had access to both secret and top secret systems and later contacted Chinese consular officials after leaving the Army.

Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, learned Mandarin and sought a Chinese visa while serving in the Army. US Army

Court records show Schmidt created multiple documents based on classified material and offered them to Chinese security services.

He also kept a device capable of accessing secure Army networks, which prosecutors said he offered to Chinese officials.

After leaving the Army, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong in March 2020 and continued corresponding with Chinese contacts.

He lived there for more than three years before flying to San Francisco in October 2023, where he was arrested. He pleaded guilty in June 2025 and was sentenced Tuesday in Seattle.

Coughenour said he weighed “the seriousness of Schmidt’s crime and his mental health at the time.” A DOJ spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital the judge considered Schmidt’s mental health as a mitigating factor during sentencing. 

The agency said Schmidt’s separation from the Army followed a mental health episode, and officials added that no classified material was believed to have reached China.

“The FBI and our partners will remain vigilant in our mission to safeguard our nation,” said W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the Seattle field office.

Court records show Schmidt created multiple documents based on classified material and offered them to Chinese security services. Getty Images

Assistant US Attorney Todd Greenberg said Schmidt “created documents based on classified and national defense information.

He used his training to provide sensitive information to the Chinese security service. He knew what he was doing was wrong. He was doing web searches for such things as ‘Can you be extradited for treason.’”

The FBI investigated the case with assistance provided by the US Army Counterintelligence Command (USACC).

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Seattle Field Office with assistance from the USACC.

The Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.