On Thursday, a former US Army helicopter pilot who later worked as a civilian defense contractor admitted to giving China classified aviation technological secrets for up to $32,000.
San Diego resident Shapour Moinian, 67, acknowledged in federal court to working as a double agent for the Chinese government and giving President Xi Jinping’s administration access to confidential aviation-related information from his employers in the military industry.
In addition, Moinian admitted guilt to lying in a similar manner during background checks for national security.
For operating as an agent of a foreign government, the former US Army helicopter pilot now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of $250,000 for making false statements.
August 29 is the scheduled day for sentencing. Federal prosecutors agreed to propose a sentence of no longer than 20 months as part of the plea bargain.
In exchange for about $10,000, Monion allegedly agreed to divulge knowledge about various US-designed airplanes during a trip to Hong Kong in 2017.
According to his plea deal, Monian was aware that everyone present at that meeting and all following meetings worked for the Chinese government.
He started accumulating aviation-related information when he got back to the US and transferred it on a memory stick.
Then, in September of that same year, he met with representatives of the Chinese government and delivered them the hard drive, which contained confidential data from the CDC.
He subsequently made arrangements for payment using his stepdaughter’s South Korean bank account.
Instructing his stepdaughter to send the money to him in several transactions, Moinian explained to her that these amounts were reimbursement for his consultancy services performed abroad.
These people also gave Moinian a cell phone and other equipment so that he could contact them and facilitate the electronic exchange of documents and information.
The same officials were reconnected with when Moinian visited Bali at the end of March 2018. He started working at another CDC later that year.
During this period, the same individuals in China transmitted thousands of dollars to Moinian’s stepdaughter in South Korea, who then forwarded the money to Moinian in several transactions.
Moinian returned to Hong Kong in August 2019 to meet with these same officials, when he was once more compensated with about $22,000 in cash. This money was brought back into the country illegally by Moinian and his wife.
In his plea deal, Moinian also acknowledged lying on background checks he submitted to the government in July 2017 and March 2020, when he claimed he had no ongoing relationships with foreigners and that no one abroad had offered him a job.
From around 1977 through 2000, Moinian served in the Army in South Korea, Germany, and the United States.