Yu’s Konnech Corporation was accused by the prosecution of inappropriately storing information on servers in China. The software corporation allegedly has connections to the Chinese Communist Party, according to US election denialists.
On Tuesday, the founder and CEO of a software company that election sceptics have targeted was detained on suspicion of stealing information on hundreds of poll workers in Los Angeles County.
Eugene Yu, 51, a representative of Konnech Corporation, was detained in Meridian Township, Michigan, on suspicion of stealing personally identifiable information, and detectives from the county district attorney’s office reportedly collected computer hard drives and other “digital evidence.”
Prosecutors in the area will ask for his extradition to California.
Any LA County poll worker data Konnech may have acquired was provided to it by LA County, and therefore could not have been “stolen,” as asserted. Konnech stated: “We are continuing to ascertain the circumstances of what we consider to be Mr. Yu’s unlawful imprisonment by LA County officials.”
The East Lansing, Michigan-based Konnech is a small business. According to Dean Logan, the county registrar-recorder/county clerk, it was awarded a five-year, US$2.9 million contract with LA County for software to monitor election worker scheduling, training, wages, and communications.
Despite being required to maintain the information in the United States and limit access to citizens and permanent residents, Konnech kept the information on servers in the People’s Republic of China.
The DA’s office didn’t say specifically what data was allegedly taken. Officials, however, insisted that the incident solely involved poll workers and had no impact on the outcome of the election.
District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement that “security in all facets of any election is vital so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the electoral process.”
Logan issued a statement that read, “With the midterm general election 35 days away, our goal remains on ensuring this election’s administration is not disturbed.”
According to the district attorney’s office, there was no proof that any election workers had been bought off or threatened, and it was still being investigated whether any of the data had fallen into the wrong hands.
The newspaper reported that Yu, who was born in China, and Konnech were the targets of allegations made by election conspiracy theorists that the business had provided information on 2 million poll workers and had ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Despite the lack of supporting proof, the publication claimed that Yu fled after receiving threats.
According to the Times, Konnech also has agreements with DeKalb County in Georgia and Allen County in Indiana.
According to Konnech’s website, the company now has 32 clients throughout North America.
