A Department of State employee, Michael Charles Schena, of Alexandria, Virginia, has just been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for conspiring to hand over U.S. national defense information to individuals he believed were working for the Communist Chinese regime.
According to the Justice Department, Schena knowingly used his Top-Secret clearance to photograph and transmit classified documents.
According to a press release issued earlier this year:
“Schena is employed by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) working out of DOS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Schena held a Top Secret security clearance and had access to information up to the Secret level within his DOS workspace.
Beginning in or about April 2022, Schena allegedly communicated with people he met online through various communication platforms and provided them with information they were not authorized to receive. In return, Schena allegedly received payments.
On Feb. 27, Schena allegedly used a cellphone to take images of multiple documents, which were displayed on the monitor of his classified computer and marked as “SECRET.” Schena then allegedly left work and returned to his home in Alexandria, where the cellphone was seized.
Schena is charged with conspiracy to gather, transmit, or lose national defense information and faces a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
Court records show Serna began feeding them sensitive U.S. government information for cash. By 2024, the payments ballooned into the tens of thousands.
According to the press release:
In August 2024, Schena met an individual at a hotel in Peru who provided Schena $10,000 and a cellphone that was intended to be used for Schena to receive taskings and transmit information.
In October 2024, while at work, Schena used the cellphone he received in Peru to photograph and transmit at least four classified documents that contained national defense information and which were classified at the SECRET level.
In February 2025, surveillance video captured Schena again using the cellphone to photograph seven documents marked as SECRET that contained national defense information.
FBI agents seized the cellphone before Schena could transmit photographs of these classified documents to his handlers, and arrested Schena.
Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino wrote on X, “Today, State Department employee Michael Charles Schena was sentenced to 48 months in prison for attempting to sell out his country. He was paid to use a covert communication device to take pictures of CLASSIFIED documents containing national defense information and then send them to individuals he believed worked for the Chinese government. Schena’s actions directly undermined U.S. national security and put Americans at risk. No amount of money is worth betraying your country, and the FBI will do EVERYTHING in our power to bring traitors like Schena to justice.”
Another update from your @FBI on our efforts to defend the homeland and protect the American people.
Today, State Department employee Michael Charles Schena was sentenced to 48 months in prison for attempting to sell out his country.
He was paid to use a covert communication…
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) September 5, 2025
“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.”
“The price of Michael Schena’s disgraceful betrayal of his country is far more than the paltry amount for which he traded his honor,” said U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia. “His acts of selfish avarice left that price to be paid by the faithful women and men of our intelligence community and the nation they serve. The cost Schena will pay is the loss of his integrity, his reputation, and, by today’s sentence, his freedom.”
“Michael Schena deliberately undermined U.S. national security and put American lives at risk by selling classified information to the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The Chinese government continues to aggressively target U.S. government employees to steal our classified information, and this sentencing makes clear the FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to defend the homeland. Anyone thinking of betraying their oath to the United States should consider the severe consequences and know the FBI will work tirelessly to bring them to justice.”
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