A suspected Chinese spy was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing American nuclear secrets.
Chenguang Gong, 57, of San Jose, California, is said to have transferred more than 3,600 files containing blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors that detect missile launches.
The stolen information was said to be “worth hundreds of millions of dollars” and “would be dangerous to the national security of the United States if obtained by international actors,” according to court documents.
Gong is a native of China who moved to the United States around 1993 and obtained citizenship in 2011.
The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said Gong “sought to provide the People’s Republic of China with information to assist its military.”
Gong was released Wednesday on $2.5 million bail after a hearing in San Jose; He will appear in court again on February 20 and faces 10 years in federal prison.
A Chinese ‘spy’ was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly stealing plans for sophisticated infrared sensors that detect nuclear missile launches.
While Gong has been released on bail, the United States does not have an extradition treaty with China.
An affidavit released this week details Gong’s case, his background and alleged ties to China. His photograph has not been released to the public.
The document calls the engineer’s former workplace “the victim company,” but Court News Service reported that Gong worked at HRL Laboratories, based in Malibu.
HRL is a research and development laboratory specialized in sensors.
The affidavit says Gong was hired in January 2023, tasked with developing and verifying infrared sensors. He was fired on April 26, 2023.
Pamela Reese, director of marketing and communications at HRL Laboratories LLC, told Courthouse News Service: “When HRL became aware of suspicious activity by Gong, the company immediately began an investigation, terminated his employment and notified the appropriate authorities.
“HRL has continued to cooperate with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in its case against Gong and will provide ongoing support as needed.”
The document names the engineer’s former workplace as ‘the Victim Company,’ but Courthouse News Service reported that Gong worked at Malibu-based HRL Laboratories (pictured).
According to the affidavit, HRL has developed a Serrano reader IC, which is “an integrated circuit that combines infrared search and track functionality with infrared countermeasures on a single chip.”
“The Serrano Readout IC is capable of offering high dynamic range (to track threats in low-visibility environments) and time-of-flight capabilities (to analyze how fast the threat is approaching),” the statement read.
The company has also designed what it calls the Anaheim Readout Integrated Circuit, which combines several features to reliably detect missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
The files Gong allegedly stole included designs for space systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles,” according to the Justice Department.
The transfer is also said to have “blueprints for sensors designed to allow US military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures, including by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking capability.”
The government also noted that Gong had accepted another position at another company developing similar technologies and allegedly stole more than 1,800 files.
Federal Attorney Martin Estrada said: ‘We will do everything possible to protect the security of our nation, even in the face of foreign threats.
“We know that foreign actors, including the PRC, actively seek to steal our technology, but we will remain vigilant against this threat by safeguarding the innovations of American companies and researchers.”
During the investigation, the affidavit states, the FBI discovered that, between approximately 2014 and 2022, while working at several major U.S. technology companies, ‘Gong submitted numerous applications to ‘Talent Programs’ administered by the U.S. government. People’s Republic of China. ‘
The affidavit explained that “the People’s Republic of China has established talent programs through which it identifies individuals located outside the People’s Republic of China who have skills, abilities and expert knowledge that would help transform the economy of the People’s Republic of China, including their military capabilities.”
Gong is a native of China who moved to the United States around 1993 and obtained citizenship in 2011.
In 2014, while working at a Dallas-based information technology company, Gong sent a business proposal to a contact at a high-tech research institute in China focused on both military and civilian products, the affidavit states.
“In his proposal, translated from Chinese, Gong described a plan to produce high-performance analog-to-digital converters similar to those produced by his employer,” the Justice Department said.
The FBI executed a search warrant on May 8, 2023 to enter Gong’s residence in Thousand Oaks, California.
Authorities said they recovered “several digital devices containing hundreds of documents marked as confidential or proprietary to the information technology company,” the affidavit alleges.
Gong is said to have submitted another Talen Program application in September 2020, proposing Develop “night vision/low light” image sensors for use in military night vision goggles and civilian applications.
The Chinese native allegedly traveled to his homeland several times in search of financing for Develop sophisticated analog-digital converters.
The affidavit showed that the application noted that Gong could develop “high-performance analog-to-digital converters” in China, which “had military applications.”
The document went on to explain that the technology could “determine the accuracy and range of radar systems and that (m)isile navigation systems also typically use forward-facing radar systems.”
In a 2019 email, translated from Chinese, Gong commented that he “took a risk” by traveling to China to participate in the Talent Programs “because he worked for… an American military industry company” and thought he could “do something”. to contribute to China’s “high-end military integrated circuits.”
Gong is believed to have been born in the Zhejiang province of China.
His resume said he “earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University and completed some doctoral work at Stanford University,” according to the affidavit.
“From the late 1990s until 2023, Gong worked for several prominent American technology companies, as well as an international defense, aerospace and security company,” the document continues.