Federal Bureau of Investigation employee pleads guilty to spying for China

He allegedly did not disclose his ties to foreign organizations and individuals in a written questionnaire submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his security clearance, and did not disclose to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he made contact with “foreign nationals during a trip to Europe”. The unsealed documents revealed he and some of his relatives had “maintained relationships” with employees of a Chinese tech firm and one person whom “Chun understood to be affiliated with the Chinese government”.

If convicted, Chun will be the second case of Chinese espionage in four months, joining Amin Yu “who smuggled underwater drone parts from US companies to a state-owned university in China that does military research”. “The truth is that Mr. Chun loves the United States and never meant to cause it any harm”. On multiple occasions, Chinese Official-1 asked Chun for information regarding the FBIs internal structure.

Chun shared information on the identity and travel of an FBI Special agent during his meetings with the Chinese official, prosecutors said. He later used his personal cellphone to send the photos to China, they add.

The FBI started investigating Chun in February of 2015. The UCE purported to be a US citizen who was born in China and working as a consultant to several firms, including an independent contractor for the Department of Defense, among other entities.

The government official and people from Kulion also paid for Chun’s travel, supplied him with prostitutes and gave money to Chun’s family in exchange for information, according to the criminal complaint. Chun was allegedly tasked with consulting work in the US for that Chinese company, for which he was given financial and travel “benefits”. The UCE told Chun that he had access to sensitive information from the USA government. Chun told the undercover agent about his connections to China and attempted to recruit the operative as a spy for China. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.