A former employee of one of America’s biggest aviation firms, Boeing has been charged with economic espionage and has been established as an agent of Chinese intelligence services. Boeing Corporation is a leading name in commercial aviation and has numerous contracts with the U.S Department of Defense.

Dongfan “Greg” Chung age 73, has been accused and convicted of siphoning off sensitive and compartmentalized Boeing trade documents along with classified technology from the firm. The restricted information includes technical data regarding space shuttle program and the Delta IV rocket.

Mr. Chung has been charged with economic espionage and has been convicted of being an agent to the Chinese government. The conviction was laid down by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. The accused has also been charged with providing false information to a federal agency, in this case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Before the current conviction, Greg was released on ‘bond’ after he was arrested by the FBI and NASA investigators. But was later arrested again after the ruling delivered by Judge Carney.

Dongfan “Greg” Chung is a native Chinese and U.S naturalized citizen and had been working with Rockwell International since 1973. The company was later absorbed by Boeing Corporation in 1996, along with its defense and space divisions. During his tenure in Boeing, Greg was given a ‘classified’ level clearance that gave him access to some of the most sensitive data in the company.

According to David Kris (Attorney General for National Security),

”For years, Mr. Chung stole critical trade secrets from Boeing relating to the space shuttle and the Delta IV rocket — all for the benefit of the government of China. Today’s verdict should serve as a warning to others willing to compromise America’s economic and national security to assist foreign governments.”

Via CNN