Chinese Citizen Living in Chicago Convicted of Spying on US Engineers

Ji Chaoqun, 27, a Chinese citizen living in Chicago was arrested in 2018 for spying on U.S. engineers, including defense contractors.

Ji Chaoqun arrived in the U.S. in 2013 on an F1 Visa.

“In 2016, Ji enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which authorized the U.S. Armed Forces to recruit certain legal aliens whose skills are considered vital to the national interest. In his application to participate in the MAVNI program, Ji falsely stated that he had not had contact with a foreign government within the past seven years. In a subsequent interview with a U.S. Army officer, Ji again failed to disclose his relationship and contacts with a foreign intelligence officer.” the DOJ said.

Chaoqun was charged with one count of knowingly acting as a foreign agent on U.S. soil.

Via the Justice Department in 2018:

Ji worked at the direction of a high-level intelligence officer in the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security, a provincial department of the Ministry of State Security for the People’s Republic of China, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Ji was tasked with providing the intelligence officer with biographical information on eight individuals for possible recruitment by the JSSD, the complaint states. The individuals included Chinese nationals who were working as engineers and scientists in the United States, some of whom were U.S. defense contractors, according to the complaint…. (Excerpt from Gateway Pundit)