Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Former U.S. Air Force officer and pilot Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., also known by the call sign “Runner,” 65, a U.S. citizen, was arrested today in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Brown was charged by criminal complaint for providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). Brown is expected to have his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana on February 26, 2026.

“The United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him with the defense of our Nation. He now stands charged with training Chinese military pilots,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “When U.S. persons – whether military or civilian – provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department. The National Security Division will use all tools at its disposal to protect our military advantages and hold to account those who would violate the AECA.”

“Gerald Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot with decades of experience flying U.S. military aircraft, allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.  “The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the U.S. armed forces to modernize China’s military capabilities. This arrest serves as a warning that the FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who collaborates with our adversaries to harm our service members and jeopardize our national security.”

“As an Air Force Officer, Brown took an oath to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic, he broke that oath, and betrayed the country, jeopardizing the safety of our servicemembers and allies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions. The Department of Justice and my prosecutors are steadfast in our commitment to use every lawful tool available to keep American military expertise where it belongs – here in America.”

“Providing U.S. military training to our adversaries represents a significant threat to national security,” said Lee M. Russ, Executive Director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects. “AFOSI remains committed to countering the threat posed by those who violate the trust placed in them and endanger our service members.”

As alleged in the complaint, since at least in or around August 2023, Brown willfully conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. persons to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the Chinese Air Force, known as the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). This training was a defense service under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Brown, a U.S. person under the ITAR, lacked the required license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to provide that training to foreign persons or foreign military units.

Brown served for over 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, leaving active duty in 1996 with the rank of Major. During his lengthy military career, Brown commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of fighter and attack aircraft, including the F-4 “Phantom II,” F-15 “Eagle,” F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” and the A-10 “Thunderbolt II” (Warthog). Brown then served as a commercial cargo pilot and, most recently, as a contract simulator instructor for two different U.S. defense contractors training U.S. military pilots on flying the A-10 and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

According to the complaint, in or around August 2023, Brown began arranging the terms of his contract to train Chinese military pilots, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors and steal sensitive military and export-controlled data for the PRC. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Su Bin and his company PRC Lode Technology Company were also added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2014.

Throughout these communications, Brown consistently stated his intent to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations. In the resumé he prepared for his application, Brown wrote his “objective” as “Instructor Fighter Pilot.” A co-conspirator told Brown that he hoped Brown would be assigned to “my base, but otherwise you’ll go where is the local equivalent as the [U.S. Air Force] Weapon School.” Later, he stated to a co-conspirator that, upon his arrival in China, “Now…. I have the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!”

In December 2023, Brown traveled to China to begin his work training PRC military pilots. After his arrival, Brown answered question for three hours about the U.S. Air Force on his first day in the PRC and then, on his second day, prepared and presented a brief about himself for the PLAAF. Brown remained in China until he traveled to the United States in early February 2026.

The charges against Brown follow similar charges filed against former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan in the District of Columbia in September 2017. Duggan was charged with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, as well as for conspiring to engage in international money laundering. Like Brown, Duggan received significant training during his career as a pilot in the U.S. military, then used that training for the benefit of the Chinese military. In particular, Duggan is alleged to have trained Chinese military pilots on the tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with takeoff from and landing on an aircraft carrier. Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 and is currently pending extradition to the United States.

In June 2024, the United States, along with the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand, published a bulletin warning that “China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to target current and former military personnel from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations and other Western countries to help bolster the PLA’s capabilities.” In February 2025, Gen. James B. Hecker, the then-commander of NATO Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, stated: “Once you fly on our team, even after you hang up your uniform, you have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures.”

The case against Brown is being investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office, with valuable assistance from the FBI’s Louisville, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles Field Offices. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations also provided substantial assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Beau Barnes and Acting Deputy Chief Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven B. Wasserman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from National Security Division Paralegal Specialist Derra McQuaig. Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.

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An indictment, complaint, or criminal information is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., 65, a former U.S. Air Force officer and pilot, was arrested today in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and charged by criminal complaint for providing, and conspiring to provide, unauthorized defense services to Chinese military pilots in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Columbia, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking offense in St. Joseph, Mo.; transporting approximately 2,300 fentanyl pills at a train station in Kansas City, Mo.; and for possession with intent to distribute another 913 fentanyl pills in Quapaw, Okla. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Daxin Wu, a Patent Examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations that she violated conflict-of-interest rules during the course of her employment with the USPTO.

Among other things, the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 prohibits executive branch employees from participating personally and substantially in particular matters that will affect their own financial interests. The settlement resolves allegations that, between January 2019 and May 2022, Wu worked personally and substantially on at least nine patent applications submitted by companies in which she had a financial interest. For example, Wu allegedly worked personally and substantially on patent applications for companies in which she held more than $300,000 and $140,000 worth of stock, respectively. In addition, the settlement resolves allegations that Ms. Wu reviewed patent applications submitted by companies that were commercial competitors of a company for which she owned more than $900,000 worth of stock. As part of the settlement, Wu has agreed to pay a civil penalty to resolve allegations that her conduct violated conflict-of-interest prohibitions for federal employees.

“The Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General works hard to investigate alleged conflicts of interest at USPTO and throughout the Department of Commerce — and hold offenders accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Laura Barsczewski of the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations. “We will continue to be resolute in our charge for justice and work closely with the Department of Justice.”

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General. This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Joshua Barron of the Civil Division.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions Inc., a Virigina IT professional service provider. The settlement addresses allegations that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it posted job advertisements generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that included citizenship status restrictions not authorized by law, including language restricting consideration only to applicants with H-1B, OPT, or H-4 visas.

“It is unconscionable for companies to illegally exclude U.S. workers when recruiting and hiring,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate discriminating against U.S. workers, no matter who — or what — drafts a job advertisement, or whether it is an employee, a recruiter, or an AI tool.”

This settlement is the eighth settlement since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025 to enforce the INA’s prohibition on citizenship status discrimination against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under these settlements, the Department obtains civil penalties for each violation and will continue to seek the maximum penalty permitted by law. The settlements also involve awards of back pay, when warranted, and require employers to conduct comprehensive training to relevant staff and recruiters and cease restricting consideration for job opportunities based on workers’ citizenship status without a lawful reason.

For information about additional settlements under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, visit IER’s website.

For informal assistance, the public can call IER’s free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.