Chinese American convicted on spy charges

A Chinese American engineer was found guilty Thursday of conspiring with family members to send information about U.S. Navy technology to China that would make it easier to detect American submarines.

Chi Mak, a naturalized citizen, was convicted of conspiracy to violate export control laws, attempting to violate export control laws, acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China and lying to the FBI.

Following six weeks of testimony in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., the jury deliberated for less than three days.

“We were confident about this case from the start,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Staples.

Prosecutors described Mak as a sleeper agent who began preparing for his assignment in America in the 1960s, when he moved from China to Hong Kong, then a British colony. FBI agents said they found thousands of defense-related documents in his home that he admitted sending to China.

“To the extent that there is Chinese espionage going on in the United States, I hope (the conviction) sends a strong message,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian.

Defense attorney Ronald Kaye said Mak is a loyal American and accused the government of overstating the facts. He also accused prosecutors of using xenophobia to gain a conviction.

“It’s a sad day for our country when fear of the foreigner was the means by which the government was able to obtain a guilty verdict,” Kaye said.

Sentencing was set for Sept. 10. Mak, 67, faces a maximum of 45 years in prison. His wife, brother and sister-in-law and their son also have been charged in the case and will be tried next month.

The prosecution’s case was built around three encrypted computer disks containing military-related information. Mak’s brother and sister-in-law were arrested Oct. 28, 2005, just before boarding a plane to China with the disks. They contained information about an electric-powered propulsion system for warships, a solid-state power switch for ships and a PowerPoint presentation on the future of power electronics.