Eugene Yu, the CEO of Konnech, a small election software company targeted by “True the Vote”, has been arrested in connection with the theft of personal data. (Read More Here).
The founder and CEO of a software company targeted by election deniers was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing data on hundreds of Los Angeles County poll workers.
Konnech Corporation’s Eugene Yu, 51, was arrested in Meridian Township in Michigan and held on suspicion of theft of personal identifying information, while computer hard drives and other “digital evidence” were seized by investigators from the county district attorney’s office, according to the office.
Local prosecutors will seek his extradition to California.
“We are continuing to ascertain the details of what we believe to be Mr. Yu’s wrongful detention by LA County authorities,” Konnech said in a statement that ended: “Any LA County poll worker data that Konnech may have possessed was provided to it by LA County, and therefore could not have been ‘stolen’ as suggested.”
Konnech is a small company based in East Lansing, Michigan. In 2020, it won a five-year, $2.9 million contract with LA County for software to track election worker schedules, training, payroll,and communications, according to the county registrar-recorder/county clerk, Dean C. Logan.
Konnech was required to keep the data in the United States and only provide access to citizens and permanent residents but instead stored it on servers in the People’s Republic of China, the DA’s office said.
Computer hard drives and other “digital evidence” were seized by investigators from the LA County district attorney’s office.
Yu’s company, Konnech, is based in East Lansing, Michigan. It distributes PollChief software to track poll worker schedules, communications and payroll.
The software requires workers to submit personal identifying information, which is retained by Konnech.
Gascón didn’t specify what specific information was allegedly taken.
But he said the investigation only involved the personal identifying information of election workers, and that “the alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results.”
“But security in all aspects of any election is essential so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the election process,” Gascón said. “But security in all aspects of any election is essential so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the election process,” Gascón said.
“We are continuing to ascertain the details of what we believe to be Mr. Yu’s wrongful detention by LA County authorities,” Konnech said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
Konnech has repeatedly denied keeping data outside of the U.S., the New York Times reported.
Yu is an American citizen who immigrated from China in 1986.
Yu and Konnech—which has 21 employees in the U.S. and six in Australia—became the target of claims by a group of election deniers that the company had secret ties to the Chinese Communist Party and had supplied information about 2 million poll workers.
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