U.S. Department of State employee sentenced to four years for espionage

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A 42-year-old former US Department of State employee, Michael Charles Schena, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defence information to individuals he believed were working for the government of the People’s Republic of China.

According to court documents, Schena’s illicit activities began in April 2022, when he started communicating with individuals online and providing them with sensitive US government information in exchange for money.

Despite indications that these individuals were working on behalf of the People Republic of China, Schena continued to provide classified information, including documents marked as SECRET and containing national defence information.

The investigation revealed that Schena met with an individual at a hotel in Peru in August 2024, where he received $10,000 and a cellphone intended for receiving taskings and transmitting information.

Schena used this cellphone to photograph and transmit classified documents on multiple occasions, including in October 2024 and February 2025.

The FBI Washington Field Office led the investigation, with assistance from the FBI Richmond Field Office, the Department of Justice’s Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service Office of Counterintelligence.

Assistant US Attorneys Michael Ben’Ary and Gavin R. Tisdale, along with Trial Attorney Maria Fedor, prosecuted the case.

In response to the sentencing, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg emphasized the severity of Schena’s betrayal, stating that the sentence serves as a warning to those who would violate the trust placed in them by the US government.

FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky highlighted the ongoing threat posed by the Chinese government, which continues to target US government employees to steal classified information.

The sentence was handed down by US District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, marking a significant victory for national security and the rule of law.