A FBI electronics technician pleaded guilty to having illegally acted as an agent of China from 2011 to 2016. Kun Shan Chun, also known as “Joey Chun”, admitted to passing sensitive information to a Chinese official on several occasions. On Monday he pleaded guilty in front of a federal court in Manhattan to one count of having illegally acted as an agent of a foreign government. The 20-year FBI veteran from Brooklyn admitted to providing the Chinese government with confidential information, including the identity and travel patterns of a special agent. Chun not only provided the Chinese government with information but violated his security clearances several times to obtain the information.
Chun has worked as an electronics technician for the FBI since 1997. At first Chun claimed that he didn’t betray the United States government until 2011 when he met a Chinese official while traveling through Europe. However, investigations revealed that Chun already had illegal connections with a Chinese tech company, Zhuhai Kolion Technology. The company reportedly purchased prostitutes for Chun and gave money to his parents in exchange for information.
Chun’s three biggest crimes crimes against the U.S. came in 2011, 2013, and 2015. The first, in 2011, consisted of him providing information about a special agent to the Chinese official he met while traveling. In 2013 he would provide the same Chinese official with an organizational chart of the FBI’s New York bureau after the unnamed official asked about the enforcement agency’s “internal structure.” In 2015 he obtained photographs of documents detailing the FBI’s surveillance technologies by using his cell phone in a restricted area, these were also passed onto his contact in the Chinese government.
Chun’s dissent against the United States government came to an end in March of 2015. He was arrested after being caught in a sting operation. A fellow FBI agent posed as a contractor for the Department of Defense and requested classified information from Chun, which he promptly turned over to the undercover agent. During the conversation between Chun and the agent he revealed that he knew what he was doing was wrong. He told the undercover agent:
“I’m already in deep s–t you know cause … people that I met you know over there in China, I never disclose that, never. That’s a f—ing violation.”
The total amount of money that Chun received for his treason has not been released. FBI investigators believe he was motivated by the financial rewards he received for the information. Chun also claims that his parents coerced him into working with the Chinese government because they were investors in Zhuhai Kolion Technology. Zhuhai Kolion Technology has not issued any statements on the allegations.
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