Chinese national indicted for alleged wire fraud and identity theft

ATLANTA, Ga. (WDEF) —  A Chinese national was recently charged for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Song Wu was attempting to illegally obtain specialized software from NASA, private companies, and U.S. research universities.

He was targeting software that could be used for military purposes such as designing advanced weapons.

According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, these efforts are a serious threat to national security.

Song allegedly carried out a “spear phishing” scheme over several years.

This scheme included sending fake emails pretending to be American researchers and engineers, attempting to obtain the aerospace software.

Employees at NASA, the U.S. military, top research universities, and private aerospace companies, received these emails.

While carrying out this scheme, Song was employed at Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) as an engineer.

AVIC produces both military and civilian aircrafts, making it one of world’s largest defense contractors.

Song is facing a total of 28 charges, 14 counts of wire fraud, and 14 counts of identity theft.

He could up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, plus two more years for identity theft.