Chi Mak

Chi Mak (Chinese: 麥大志, pinyin: Mài Dàzhì) is a naturalized American citizen who worked as an engineer for California-based defense contractor Power Paragon, a part of L-3 Communications.^[1] In 2007, Mak was found guilty of conspiring to export sensitive defense technology to China.^[2]

Mak's defense was that he thought there was nothing improper about allowing the paper to leave the U.S., despite his training from his employer indicating quite the opposite. He had intentionally released it without his employer's permission at a 2004 international engineering conference.^[2] He had been briefed every year on regulations regarding documents designated "For Official Use Only" (FOUO)^[3] and items restricted by export controls. His defense argued that making the data accessible to scrutiny by the general public negated its military value and made it acceptable to transport outside the United States, despite the fact that Chi Mak was the one who released the information without authorization. The defense also argued that the data was in the public domain. However, once again this was due to Chi Mak's unauthorised release of it.^[4][5][6]

The prosecution indicated that the data was nevertheless export-controlled and that it should not have been shared with foreign nationals without authorization.^[2] The IEEE presentations cited by prosecution in the trial ^[7] are currently available on a worldwide basis, due to Chi Mak's unauthorized releases.^[8][9]

The trial of Dongfan Chung for economic espionage started in June, 2009, presided over by the same judge who handled the Chi Mak case.

Mak's brother and sister-in-law were apprehended by the FBI after boarding a flight to Hong Kong carrying one encrypted CD which contained defense-related documents.^[10] They, along with their son as well as Mak's wife, all pleaded guilty to related charges.

On March 24, 2008 he was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison.^[11]

See also

• Chinese Intelligence Operations in the United States
• Economic Espionage Act of 1996

References

1. "L-3 Power Paragon Division Overview Page". Retrieved 2007-05-10.
2. "Engineer Guilty in Military Secrets Case". The New York Times (Associated Press). 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
3. FOUO designation
4. "Warning to Chinese Americans: FBI Still Obsessed With Chinese-American Spies".
5. Chi Mak, Tai Wang Mak Espionage/Spy Case
6. ExportLawBlog » Chi Mak Export Trial Begins
7. "Amended indictment" (PDF).
8. "Power Density Optimization in High Fidelity Power Drive" (PDF).
9. "Solid state transfer switches and current interruptors for mission-critical shipboard power systems".
10. "?". BBC News. 2008-03-25.
11. Joby Warrick and Carrie Johnson (April 3, 2008). "Chinese Spy 'Slept' In U.S. for 2 Decades". Washington Post.