A former U.S. Army Sergeant who served at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) has been sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for attempting to deliver national defense information and retaining such information, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, pleaded guilty in June 2025.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said the sentence reflected both the seriousness of Schmidt’s offenses and his mental health at the time.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “These cases remain a priority for our office to keep our country safe.”
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, stated: “As a soldier, Mr. Schmidt swore an oath to protect the United States and its citizens who, in turn, entrusted him with their security and the secrets necessary to defend it. Instead of upholding that trust, he betrayed it by handing over classified information to China, as his admissions make clear. The FBI and our partners will remain vigilant in our mission to safeguard our nation, making every effort to uncover those who endanger it and hold them accountable.”
Court records show that Schmidt served on active duty from January 2015 until January 2020 with the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at JBLM, where he had access to SECRET and TOP SECRET material. After leaving military service, he contacted both the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and Chinese security services via email offering national defense information.
In March 2020, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong where he continued attempts to provide classified material obtained during his service. He prepared multiple documents outlining sensitive information for Chinese authorities and retained a device capable of accessing secure military networks, which he offered as well.
Seventeen days after reaching out to Chinese intelligence contacts about these offers, Schmidt received a work visa for China—a goal he had sought previously—and stayed primarily in Hong Kong until October 2023 when he returned to San Francisco and was arrested upon arrival.
Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg told the court that 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 investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg prosecuted the case.
