Konnech CEO Eugene Yu, 51, was arrested Tuesday in Michigan after Los Angeles County prosecutors alleged he stored the personal information of hundreds of county election workers on servers in China.
The county awarded Yu’s firm, Konnech, a contract in 2020 to store information pertaining to the employee payroll and scheduling data on the guarantee that he would store all information within the U.S., according to a statement shared by LA County. Michigan is expected to extradite him to Los Angeles in the coming days, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Konnech allegedly violated its contract by storing critical information that the workers provided on servers in China,” Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon said, per the LA Times. “We intend to hold all those responsible for this breach accountable.” While Gascon noted that none of the information appeared to have been sold, any data stored in China can be provided to Chinese intelligence and security agencies at their demand.
BREAKING 🚨 Eugene Yu, CEO OF Konnech Inc. has been arrested by the LA County District Attorney pic.twitter.com/gQMHUAR9lM
— Merissa Hansen (@MerissaHansen17) October 4, 2022
Prosecutors will not say how they became aware of the breach, only that is was revealed as part of a “separate investigation,” the LA Times noted. A statement shared by True The Vote suggested that Yu’s arrest was based on alleged evidence “of the very activities he and his organization attempted to suppress,” in a suit the CEO had filed against the organization, suggesting that the organization played a “small role” in the “complex investigation.” (RELATED: Don’t Worry About Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit. China Invaded Us Years Ago, Didn’t You Notice?)
True The Vote reportedly stated that members of the not-for-profit were able to download the personal information of 1.8 million poll workers, held on Konnech servers in China, information that was subsequently handed to the FBI, according to The Post Millennial.
Konnech did not immediately return The Daily Caller’s request for comment or statement on Yu’s arrest. He has previously denied any wrongdoing, according to the New York Times.