Konnech CEO Eugene Yu was arrested in Michigan last week on suspicion of stealing data from LA County poll workers and storing that data on servers in Communist China.
On September 8, a reporter from 100 Percent Fed Up attended “The Pit,” where True the Votes’ Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips dropped a bombshell about the arrest of Eugene Yu, CEO of Konnech, an E. Lansing, MI-based company responsible for the software used in managing elections in several states that stored personal information of over 1 million Americans in its database.
Kanekoa The Great, a spectacular investigative journalist and blogger, reported about the findings of The Pit on September 8, 2022- In January 2021, Phillips said that the cyber analyst he had been working with encountered an “oddity in some of the URLs” such as vote4la.com, vote4detroit.com, and vote4boston.com, which Konnech’s “PollChief” software application used to gather personally-identifying information about poll workers.
Using Binary Edge, a software product companies use to identify and assess the risk of cyber breaches, “We began to look at where these URLs actually resolve to. We found that most of them resolve to one IP address and that IP address — the URL resolved in China,” Phillips said.
“What we also learned in our review, apps.konnech.com [.net], resolved into this same URL in China, meaning that the application itself was residing in China,” he continued.
On October 4, the LA County District Attorney’s office announced that Eugene Yu was arrested in Michigan and taken into custody for suspected theft of information on voters stored on servers in Communist China.
From LA DA Gascon’s office:
Konnech distributes and sells its proprietary PollChief software, which is an election worker management system that was utilized by the county in the last California election. The software assists with poll worker assignments, communications, and payroll. PollChief requires that workers submit personal identifying information, which is retained by the Konnech.
Under its $2.9 million, five-year contract with the county, Konnech was supposed to securely maintain the data and that only United States citizens and permanent residents have access to it.
District Attorney investigators found that in contradiction to the contract, information was stored on servers in the People’s Republic of China.
The East Lansing, MI, Police Department and Ingham County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan also assisted in the investigation.
During a Zoom call following Yu’s arrest, Ingham County, MI Prosecutors Office Unit Chief Nicole Matusko called Mr. Yu a significant flight risk and explained how they believed he was attempting to potentially flee the United States.
I will note for the record that Mr. Yu is a significant flight risk.
Mr. Yu has substantial ties to the country of China.
He maintains relationships with family and friends in China.
He also has extensive and significant business relationships in the country of China.
He also has business relationships with other countries outside of the United States.
In addition, when he was arrested yesterday, he was arrested with a backpack or luggage, and he was, in fact, on his way to the airport. I do not have confirmation as to where he was going, but he was on his way to leaving the state of Michigan.
In addition to having his luggage with him, I was notified yesterday that his cell phone was left at his residence in Meridian Township. Mr. Yu is the owner of a. business or businesses that are technology based. He is a technologically savvy individual, so in our view—leaving his cell phone behind when he was going to another state is suspicious.
With all of the questions swirling around Mr. Yu and his contracts with various elected officials and organizations, wouldn’t you think our dishonest mainstream media would be researching political connections and/or donations made by Konnech CEO Eugene Yu and possibly even his employees?
As it turns out, the MI-based Konnech CEO, who was very possibly fleeing the country when he was arrested, really loves Democrats. Mr. Yu apparently really wanted Detroit’s Democrat City Clerk Janice Winfrey to win her election in 2016, as he donated TWICE to Winfrey’s campaign to become the chief of elections during Trump’s run for President in 2016.
Here is a screenshot of BOTH donations made on 9-25-2015 by Mr. Yu to Democrat Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey.
After the announcement of his arrest, the City of Detroit quickly canceled its contracts with Konnech (look for more on this story to come later today).
The recipient of Mr. Yu’s financial support for her campaign in 2016, City Clerk Janice Winfrey, made the following statement regarding the canceling of their contract with Konnech following the CEO’s arrest:
“Our data, which is now back under our exclusive control, was housed on servers located in Lansing, Michigan. Konnech, per its contract, only provided logistical and call center support,” said Winfrey. “Out of an abundance of caution, all proper steps are being taken — including the termination of Konnech’s contract. My staff and I are confident that the 2022 election process will run smoothly delivering, after all votes have been counted, an unimpeachable work product.”
The Detroit City Clerk is not the only MI Democrat elected official to whom Eugene Yu donated money. Curiously, during an off-election year, Mr. Yu donated $500 to MI Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow. Why? Why donate to a MI Senator when she’s not running for office? Someone should ask Mr. Yu this question.
Although Mr. Yu’s ties to Michigan appear to be very strong, with MI Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer publicly praising Konnech.
“Konnech’s growth is great news for our state, our families, and our economy, and further underscores the competitive advantages our state has to offer growing tech businesses,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Our future is bright, and thanks to companies like Konnech and partners like MEDC, LEAP, the MSU Foundation, and others, we can stay laser-focused on growing our economy and creating good jobs for Michigan residents.”
The Konnech CEO didn’t only support Michigan Democrat politicians, in fact, according to the National Pulse, ALL of the political donations made by employees of Konnech went to support Democratic candidates.
From the National Pulse- The unearthed political associations of the company, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) database, follows the arrest of Konnech CEO Eugene Yu. The Michigan-based company, which managed software responsible for organizing poll workers in Los Angeles County, is now “part of an investigation into the possible theft of personal identifying information of those workers,” according to authorities.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office explained that the firm was “supposed to securely maintain the data and that only United States citizens and permanent residents have access to it,” but instead secretly stored it on servers in China.
The National Pulse can also reveal nearly 50 political donations made by Konnech staff, including Eugene Yu, which exclusively went to Democratic candidates. 49 donations totaling $1,897.69 came from three employees in addition to Yu: Business Development Manager Laura Potter; Product Director Eric Staats; and Chief Operation Officer Aaron Brown.
Brown, for example, made a $75 donation to President Joe Biden’s campaign on October 30th, 2020, despite the fact the firm has received federal and state grants to assist with election infrastructure since 2010. Staats donated twice to the 2020 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders.
Other candidates that have enjoyed support from Konnech include Alabama Senator Doug Jones, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 running mate Tim Kaine.
There’s probably nothing to see here. It’s likely just a coincidence that EVERY SINGLE DONATION made by Yu, who has been arrested on suspicion of sending personal data to servers in China and his employees, went to Democrats. Perhaps CA Democrat US Rep. Eric Swalwell’s former girlfriend and Chinese spy, Fang-Fang can explain to investigators how easy it is to infiltrate and befriend Democrats in the United States of America.
