Another update for you on our efforts to defend the homeland and protect the American people from foreign intelligence agents.
Yesterday, Chenguang Gong, a Chinese national, residing in California, pled guilty to THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS. He downloaded THOUSANDS of files related to technologies developed to detect, track, and evade nuclear, ballistic, hypersonic, and heat-seeking missiles CRITICAL for our US military to protect the homeland. These files were worth HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars, and COUNTLESS research and development man-hours according to the victim companies.
China’s government established “Talent Programs” with the purpose to identify and recruit science and technology experts to give China an advantage by transforming their economy, including its military capabilities. These programs are STILL a problem. Our investigation revealed Gong submitted numerous applications and traveled to China on several occasions to secure Talent Program funding to develop sophisticated technology to support China’s national defense, military, and aerospace efforts.
We encourage our partners in the private sector to PROTECT your trade secrets from Chinese Communist Party theft. Reach out to your local FBI field office if you have any national security concerns, and together with our FBI Private Sector Coordinators, we will protect the homeland from threats both domestic and abroad.
I’d like to highlight the great work done by FBI Los Angeles and San Francisco, and thank our partners in this case, State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Homeland Security Investigations and our private sector partners.
God bless America, and all those who defend Her.