Department of State Employee Sentenced for Transmitting National Defense Information to Suspected Chinese Government Agents

A U.S. Department of State (DOS) employee was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defense information to individuals he believed to be working for the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“The price of Michael Schena’s disgraceful betrayal of his country is far more than the paltry amount for which he traded his honor,” said U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia. “His acts of selfish avarice left that price to be paid by the faithful women and men of our intelligence community and the nation they serve. The cost Schena will pay is the loss of his integrity, his reputation, and, by today’s sentence, his freedom.”

“Michael Schena deliberately undermined U.S. national security and put American lives at risk by selling classified information to the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The Chinese government continues to aggressively target U.S. government employees to steal our classified information, and this sentencing makes clear the FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to defend the homeland. Anyone thinking of betraying their oath to the United States should consider the severe consequences and know the FBI will work tirelessly to bring them to justice.”

Read more: Department of Justice