UCLA researcher arrested for destroying hard drive possibly used in transferring data to China

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A researcher from UCLA has been arrested on suspicion of destroying a hard drive that may be pertinent to an FBI investigation into Chinese theft of sensitive software and technical data, the College Fix reported Monday. Researcher Guan Lei is suspected of having destroying and throwing away the hard drive on July 25, a few days after being interviewed by investigators.

Guan had been in the US on a J-1 non-immigrant visa and was arrested as he tried to board a flight to China, the College Fix said. According to the complaint, Guan is suspected of passing secret data to China’s National University of Defense Technology and “falsely denying his association with the Chinese military – the People’s Liberation Army – in connection with his 2018 visa application and in interviews with federal law enforcement.”

When investigators asked him to produce the hard drive, Guan refused. The drive was subsequently found in a dumpster near Guan’s home and was found to be was “irreparably damaged.” All previous data that had been on the drive “appears to have been removed deliberately and by force,” the complaint said.

Moreover, the complaint states, China’s National University of Defense Technology is “suspected of procuring U.S.-origin items to develop supercomputers with nuclear explosive applications” and has been placed on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List for “nuclear nonproliferation reasons.”

The only charge Guan currently faces is in connection with destruction of the hard drive. He will be arraigned on September 17, 2020, the College Fix said.

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