According to Justice Department officials, a member of the US Army, identified as Sergeant Korbein Schultz and also serving as an intelligence analyst, has been apprehended on allegations of engaging in the illicit sale of sensitive military intelligence to China. This development emerged on Thursday following Schultz's indictment on six counts, which encompass charges of conspiring to acquire and divulge classified military defense information as well as bribery of a public official.
The 24-year-old Schultz was taken into custody at Fort Campbell, situated along the border of Tennessee and Kentucky, shortly after the indictment was unsealed. Addressing the media, Henry C Leventis, the US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, emphasized the paramount importance of safeguarding national security, particularly highlighting the critical role played by laws governing the protection of classified defense information.
The indictment elucidates that Schultz, holding a top-secret security clearance, purportedly collaborated with an individual identified solely as "Conspirator A" to disseminate various documents, photographs, and other materials pertinent to national defense, beginning in June 2022. Schultz's recruitment by this individual was allegedly facilitated not only by his security clearance but also by his responsibilities encompassing the acquisition of sensitive intelligence within the US military.
Among the classified information allegedly shared by Schultz with Conspirator A were details pertaining to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, hypersonic technologies, analyses concerning the future trajectory of US military capabilities, as well as assessments of military exercises and operations conducted by major countries such as China.
The indictment further outlines that Schultz initially provided documents delineating potential strategic insights from Russia's conflict with Ukraine, particularly focusing on how these insights could inform US support for Taiwan in the event of a hostile incursion. Subsequently, Schultz received compensation amounting to $200 for this information, prompting Conspirator A to propose an ongoing collaboration.
Conspirator A, purportedly a foreign national residing in Hong Kong, later suggested that Schultz could increase his earnings by supplying "internal only" intelligence rather than unclassified documents. In total, Schultz purportedly received at least 14 payments totaling $42,000.
Leventis also disclosed that Schultz and his accomplice discussed the recruitment of another US military member into their illicit enterprise, aiming to expand their network and acquire additional classified information. Meanwhile, Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Castro stated that Schultz, a native of Wills Point, Texas, has been serving in the Army since November 2018.
