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Description: Chicago, Illinois criminal law lawyer represented Defendant charged with acting illegally within the United States as an agent of the People's Republic of China.

Ji Chaoqun, age 31, was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifically the People’s Republic of China, without first notifying the Attorney General; one count of acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China without first notifying the Attorney General; and one count of making a material false statement to the U.S. Army. The jury acquitted Ji on two counts of wire fraud.

The conviction for acting as an unregistered Chinese agent is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, while the conspiracy and false statement convictions are each punishable by up to five years. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman did not immediately set a sentencing date.

The verdicts were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice; and Ashley T. Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The U.S. Army 902nd Military Intelligence Group provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vikas Didwania and Barry Jonas of the Northern District of Illinois, and Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Evidence presented at the two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago revealed that Ji worked at the direction of high-level intelligence officers 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, a Chinese citizen residing in Chicago, was tasked by Xu Yanjun, a Deputy Division Director within the Ministry of State Security, with providing an intelligence officer with biographical information on certain individuals for possible recruitment by the JSSD. The individuals included Chinese nationals who were working as engineers and scientists in the United States, some of whom worked for U.S. defense contractors. This tasking was part of an effort by the Jiangsu provincial department to obtain access to advanced aerospace and satellite technologies being developed by companies within the U.S. Xu was convicted last year in the Southern District of Ohio of conspiracy and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.

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.

Outcome: MINUTE entry before the Honorable Ronald A. Guzman as to Ji Chaoqun: Jury trial held on 9/26/2022. Jury trial completed and deliberations begin. The Jury finds the defendant guilty to Counts 1, 2 and 5 of the Superseding Indictment. Sentencing set for 1/17/2023 at 2:00 p.m. Objections to PSR due by 1/3/2023. Response to objections due by 1/10/2023. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3664(d)(1), if restitution is being sought in this case, 60 days prior to the sentencing date, the Government shall refer to and comply with Judge Guzman's requirements for the restitution as outlined in Judge Guzman's case management procedures, which can be found at: www.ilnd.uscourts.gov. In light of the Seventh Circuit decisions in United States v. Farmer, 755 F.3d 849 (7th Cir.2014), and United States v. Siegel, 753 F.3d 705 (7th Cir. 2014), the Court directs the Probation Office to communicate its recommendations for any special conditions of supervised release (to the extent applicable) to defendant's counsel and the government when it files the Presentence Investigation Report and the Sentencing Recommendation. The Probation Office can do so by filing on the docket a separate document entitled "Recommendations for Supervised Release Conditions" that is accessible by the parties. The Court also directs the Probation Office to communicate its sentencing recommendations to defendant's counsel and the government when it files the Sentencing Recommendation. Same conditions of bond to stand for the reasons stated on the record. The hearing will be in-person. Mailed notice. (kp, ) (Entered: 09/26/2022)

Guilty

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