A former U.S. Marine has been indicted for allegedly handing over national defense information to two individuals, including one believed to be in China.
Seth Chambers, 35, a former analyst for the U.S. Marine Corps, was indicted on two counts of willful transmission of national defense information, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced in a statement on March 13.
He later worked as an analyst from November 2021 to January 2022, a position he held as a civilian contractor hired by the U.S. government to work in Erbil, Iraq, prosecutors said.
Through his employment, Chambers was granted security clearance up to “top secret,” giving him access to national defense and other classified information, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors alleged that he passed the information to two individuals who were not authorized to receive it.
On Dec. 10, 2022, Chambers allegedly electronically sent a white paper containing excerpts from classified U.S. government documents to a person in Maryland identified as “Individual 1” in the indictment.
He also allegedly sent another white paper on April 20, 2023, to a person believed to be in China, identified as “Individual 2,” prosecutors said.
A federal grand jury seated in Springfield, Missouri, returned the indictment under seal, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It was later unsealed after the defendant’s arrest and initial court appearance.
Chambers faces up to 10 years in prison for each count if convicted.
The Epoch Times contacted Chambers’ lawyer for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
U.S. officials have previously warned about China’s efforts to recruit or target military personnel.
“Foreign companies are targeting and recruiting U.S. and NATO-trained military talent across specialties and career fields to train the PLA abroad to fill gaps in their military capabilities,” Brown wrote at the time.
Brown left active duty in 1996 after serving more than 24 years in the U.S. Air Force. Prosecutors alleged that he began providing the training in August 2023.
There have also been recent spying cases related to China.
Wei, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested on espionage charges in 2023 after reporting for duty aboard the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship based in San Diego.
Schultz, who was assigned to a battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, provided dozens of sensitive documents and data related to U.S. military capabilities from May 2022 to March 2024, in exchange for about $42,000.
