He was arrested and charged in the Eastern District of Virginia.
A U.S. Department of State employee was sentenced this week to four years in prison for conspiring to transmit national defense information to people he believed were working for the Chinese government.
Federal prosecutors said Michael Charles Schena, 42, of Alexandria, used online communication platforms to share sensitive government information in exchange for money. In 2024, officials said he accepted $10,000 and a cellphone during a meeting in Peru, which he later used to photograph and transmit classified documents from his workplace.According to court records, Schena transmitted at least four classified documents in October 2024 and was later captured on surveillance video in February 2025, photographing additional secret materials. The FBI seized the phone before he could send the images to his contacts. “The defendant threw away his career, betrayed his country, and abused the trust the United States placed in him by granting his Top-Secret security clearance. He will spend years of his life in prison for passing classified information to individuals he believed to be Chinese government agents,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Today’s sentence serves as a warning to those who would violate the trust placed in them by our Nation and double-cross the American people.” Officials said Schena continued providing information despite clear indications that his contacts were linked to the People’s Republic of China. He was arrested and charged in the Eastern District of Virginia.
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