CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago announced the conviction of 31-year-old Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese national who prosecutors said was working for a Chinese provincial Ministry of State Security.
His job was to provide the ministry with biographical information on other people who might be recruited by the Chinese government: specifically engineers and scientists, some of whom worked in the U.S. defense industry the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors said Ji’s role was part of an effort to obtain access to “advanced aerospace and satellite technologies being developed by companies within the U.S.”
Ji enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves six years ago under a special program, prosecutors said, which authorized the U.S. Armed Forces to recruit “certain legal aliens whose skills are considered vital to the national interest.”
Now he’s been convicted of lying to the U.S. Army and convicted of working as an agent for China.
Specifically, Ji was convicted of falsely stating he had not had contact with a foreign government within the past seven years. He failed to disclose his relationship with a foreign intelligence officer in a subsequent interview, as well.
A sentencing date has not been set.
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