NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> An Army soldier has been arrested on suspicion of selling classified information about U.S. military capabilities, Justice Department officials announced Thursday.
Corbein Schultz, who is also an intelligence analyst, was indicted on six charges, including conspiracy to obtain and disclose military defense information and bribery of public officials. He was arrested at Fort Campbell, which straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky border, shortly after the indictment was announced Thursday.
“The men and women of the United States military give their lives to maintain national security,” Henry C. Leventis, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, told reporters. “Our laws protecting national defense information are critical to that mission and must be enforced. The unlawful dissemination of national defense information endangers our country, our fellow citizens, our service members, and our allies.”
According to the indictment, starting in June 2022, Schultz, who was in possession of top secret classified information, conspired with an individual identified only as “Conspirator A” to steal various documents, photographs and other national defense materials. There is a suspicion that he disclosed. The indictment alleges that Schultz was recruited. This individual was designated not only because he had security clearance, but also because he was tasked with collecting classified information for the U.S. military.
Some of the information Schultz allegedly provided to individuals included research on high-mobility artillery rocket systems, hypersonic equipment, future developments in the U.S. military, and research on military exercises and operations in major countries such as China. contained information about.
According to a summary of the indictment, Mr. Schultz initially sought documents detailing the lessons to be learned from the war between Russia and Ukraine and how they could be applied to how the United States could assist in the event of an attack on Taiwan. It is said that he was Schultz was paid $200 for the information, which prompted his co-conspirator A to seek a “long-term partnership.”
Co-conspirator A, described in the indictment as a foreigner purporting to reside in Hong Kong, later suggested that Schultz could make more money if he handed over “internal-only” material rather than classified documents.
Schultz received at least 14 payments totaling $42,000.
“Defendant and his co-conspirators also discussed having other members of the U.S. military participate in the conspiracy and provide additional national defense information in order to cover up their illegal activities,” Leventis said.
The case is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions against current or former military members accused of illegally divulging sensitive government secrets.
For example, in April 2023, Jack Teixeira of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was charged with leaking classified military documents about Russia's war in Ukraine on Discord, a social media platform popular with people who play online games. . He pleaded guilty Monday in an agreement with prosecutors that called for at least 11 years in prison.
In August, two U.S. Navy sailors were indicted on charges of providing China with classified military information, including details of wartime exercises, naval operations, and sensitive technical data.
And most recently, the Justice Department this week announced charges against a civilian Air Force employee and a retired Army lieutenant colonel for allegedly sharing classified information about the war with Ukraine on a foreign dating site.