An Ypsilanti man has pleaded guilty to making false statements in his security clearance application for a job working with the U.S. Navy overseas, federal officials announced Thursday.
Yifei Chu lied about working for the Taiwanese Navy and using the COVID pandemic as cover to move to Taiwan, according to federal officials, who said the false statements were an attempt to conceal contacts with members of the Taiwanese Navy and a Taiwanese company.
Chu's plea hearing was held Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, records show. The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts listed in an indictment filed in January: making false statements and falsifying records in a federal investigation.
He faces up to five years in prison on the false statements charge and 20 years on the falsifying records charge, the Detroit U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15 before U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts.
The case marks a rare local investigation involving members of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, which investigates, exposes and tries to prevent national security threats from foreign intelligence services and other intelligence activities. The investigation uncovered multiple lies revealed after federal investigators searched Chu's emails and other electronic devices and discovered prolonged contact with members of the Taiwanese Navy, according to a criminal complaint.
Chu, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Taiwan and recent National...
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