FORMER DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTOR CHARGED
WITH MAKING A FALSE STATEMENT AND DAMAGING ARMY COMPUTERS
BOSTON – Charges were unsealed today in federal court against a
former Department of Defense (DOD) contractor for the U.S. Army in Kuwait for
making a false statement on his security clearance form and for damaging Army
computers.
Wei Chen, 61, of Westfield, Mass., was charged with one count of
making a false statement and one count of damaging computers. The
indictment, which was filed on July 23, 2015, was unsealed today after Chen’s
arrest.
According to the indictment, Chen, a computer system
administrator, applied for a job as a DOD contractor – a job that required him
to have a Secret-level security clearance. To obtain that clearance, he
needed to complete a questionnaire called the SF86, on which he acknowledged
that he knew that a false statement on the form could be punished by
imprisonment. Nonetheless, in response to the form’s question about
whether he had ever served in a foreign country’s military, Chen falsely
answered, “no.” In fact, Chen, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, served
from approximately 1971 to 1976 in an anti-aircraft unit in China’s People’s
Liberation Army.
After making this false statement on the SF86, the indictment
charges, Chen was hired as a DOD contractor and worked as a system
administrator at Camp Buehring, a large U.S. Army base in Kuwait. Chen
knew that Army policy prohibited personnel from connecting personally-owned
thumb drives to Army computer systems. Chen also knew that personnel were
prohibited from connecting even government-owned thumb drives to Army computer
systems unless they had received a specific exemption from this policy.
Chen had not received such an exemption.
The indictment charges, on approximately June 15 and 16, 2013, in violation of
Army computer security policy, Chen connected one or more personally-owned
thumb drives to computers at Camp Buehring that were connected to the Army’s
unclassified network and the classified Secret-level network. After
connecting his personally-owned thumb drive to the Secret-level network server,
Chen made an effort to cover his tracks and hide his security violation.
Specifically, he deleted network logs on the server that would have documented
his connection of the personally-owned thumb drive to the network server.
Chen also copied a computer file, containing saved e-mail and documents, from
his Secret-level workstation onto his personally-owned thumb drive, in
violation of Army computer security policy.
“National events over the past several years have highlighted the
critical role that cyber security plays in protecting our national security,”
said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “Military employees
and DOD contractors must understand that, if they lie to obtain a security
clearance or intentionally violate computer security policies and then destroy
evidence of that violation, they are committing crimes and we will prosecute
them.”
“As charged, Mr. Chen lied about his background, violated Army
security policies, and attempted to destroy the evidence,” said Vincent B.
Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston
Field Division. “Being granted and appropriately maintaining a Secret or
Top Secret security clearance by the U.S. Government to safeguard information
on our military bases is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. Failure to
uphold that responsibility threatens our national security.”
"Mr. Chen allegedly abused his position as a system
administrator to circumvent U.S. Army cybersecurity controls, improperly access
classified information, and delete evidence of his wrongdoing," said
Daniel Andrews, Director of the Computer Crime Investigative Unit of the U.S.
Army Criminal Investigation Command. "Insider threats pose a serious risk
to national security and military operations, and we will continue to work
closely with our partners to prosecute those who engage in this type of
criminal activity."
On the charge of damaging a computer, Chen faces a maximum
sentence of 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised
release, a fine of $250,000 and forfeiture. On the false statement
charge, the maximum sentence is five years in prison to be followed by three years
of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and forfeiture. Actual
sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum
penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based
upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Ortiz, Special Agent in Charge Lisi and Director
Andrews made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Bookbinder, of Ortiz’s Cybercrime Unit, and
Stephanie Siegmann, of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.
The details contained in the charging documents are
allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
