Chicago, IL – Ji Chaoqun, a 27-year-old Chinese national, has been arrested and charged with working as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced today.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, 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. Ji was tasked with providing the intelligence officer with biographical information on eight individuals for possible recruitment by the JSSD, the complaint states.
Ji allegedly targeted individuals who were Chinese nationals working as engineers and scientists in the United States, some of whom were U.S. defense contractors. The complaint charges Ji with one count of knowingly acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General.
Ji was born in China and arrived in the United States in 2013 on an F1 Visa, for the purpose of studying electrical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. In 2016, Ji enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves as an E4 Specialist under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program.
However, in his application to participate in the MAVNI program, Ji specifically denied having had contact with a foreign government within the past seven years, the complaint states. In a subsequent interview with a U.S. Army officer, Ji again failed to disclose his relationship and contacts with the intelligence officer, the charge alleges.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
The U.S. Army 902nd Military Intelligence Group provided valuable assistance. Ji will make an initial court appearance today at 5:00 p.m. EDT (4:00 p.m. CDT) before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason in Courtroom 2266 of the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.
The government’s case is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shoba Pillay of the Northern District of Illinois and Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Public Corruption|Weapons|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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