(Federal News Radio) A Chinese national under investigation for possible violations of the Arms Control Act was arrested Saturday aboard a plane at Dulles International Airport as he was attempting to leave the country.
Bo Jiang, a contractor at the National Institute of Aerospace who worked at NASA-Langley in Hampton, Va., was charged Monday with lying to federal agents, according to the Associated Press.
An affidavit filed by the FBI in Norfolk, Va., said that Jiang was under investigation for “conspiracies and substantive violations of the Arms Control Act,” a case the FBI opened March 13 based on evidence obtained from whistleblowers at NASA-Langley.
According to the affidavit, federal agents learned Friday that Jiang intended to leave the U.S. with a one-way ticket to China. On Saturday, after Jiang had flown from Norfolk to Dulles, agents made a border stop on the plane at Dulles and conducted a search of Jiang’s personal items.
“During the consensual encounter, federal agents asked Jiang what electronic media he had with him,” the affidavit said. “Jiang told the Homeland Security agent that he had a cellphone, a memory stick, and external hard drive and a new computer.
However, during the search, other media items were located that Jiang did not reveal. Such items include an additional laptop, an old hard drive and a SIM card.”
The affidavit revealed that agents believed that the electronic media was material to the federal investigation and that Jiang had previously left the U.S. with a NASA laptop that the FBI believed contained sensitive data. . . . (read the rest)
Chinese NASA scientist charged with lying to the feds (Virginia News-Pilot)
A Chinese scientist who worked as a contract employee at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton was pulled off a China-bound plane over the weekend and charged Monday with lying to federal agents about computer hardware he was carrying.
The scientist, Bo Jiang, had been targeted by a Northern Virginia congressman who says Jiang had inappropriate access to technology at Langley that could have national security implications. . . (read the rest)
A Spy at NASA? FBI investigating Chinese man arrested fleeing country (Fox News)
The FBI said Tuesday it is actively investigating a Chinese man arrested Saturday with a one-way ticket out of U.S. — a scientist potentially carrying highly confidential military secrets and rocket technology from NASA labs.
Bo Jiang, a contractor at the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) who had been working at NASA-Langley, was arrested at Dulles International Airport on Saturday by FBI and DHS agents as he was trying to leave the country, Fox News has confirmed.
Bill Daly, a former FBI investigator, said Tuesday that the agency is currently investigating Jiang to determine whether there was actual espionage going on.
“The fact that people can take information, bring it back to their home country, get a fast forward on our dime, on the money we’ve spent and the time we’ve spent developing technology, and move their programs that much further along …” Daly told Fox News.
“The Chinese have the most comprehensive spying program in Washington that has ever been. They make the KGB look like they were the junior varsity or freshman team.” — Congressman Frank Wolf
