Michael Charles Schena, a 42-year-old State Department employee from Alexandria, was sentenced to four years in prison for transmitting classified information to suspected Chinese government agents.
Federal prosecutors said Schena used online platforms to share sensitive national defence materials in exchange for money. He accepted $10,000 and a mobile phone during a 2024 meeting in Peru, which he used to photograph classified documents from his workplace.
Court records show Schena transmitted at least four classified documents in October 2024. FBI surveillance captured him photographing additional secret materials in February 2025, though agents seized the phone before he could send the images.
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
Prosecutors noted that Schena continued providing information despite clear indications his contacts were linked to the People’s Republic of China. He was arrested and charged in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The case represents one of several recent prosecutions involving alleged Chinese espionage activities targeting American government personnel.
