Los Angeles prosecutor drops charges against CEO of East Lansing firm

An attorney for the CEO of an East Lansing election management company lauded a decision by prosecutors in Los Angeles to dismiss felony charges against his client, saying he is innocent.

Eugene Yu was accused in October of mishandling election worker data by storing personal information about election workers − which his firm was hired to secure and maintain − on servers in China.

Yu heads Konnech, which has a five-year $2.9 million contract with Los Angeles County to use Konnech Corporation's PollChief election worker management system.

Yu did not respond to a request for comment. When he was arrested Oct. 4, his company issued the following statement: "We are continuing to ascertain the details of what we believe to be Mr. Yu's wrongful detention by LA County authorities. Any LA County poll worker data that Konnech may have possessed was provided to it by LA County, and therefore could not have been 'stolen' as suggested."

Yu scored a legal victory Nov. 9, when Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón dropped charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and grand theft by embezzlement against him "without prejudice," meaning they could be revived. However, Gascón's office told Reuters it is working with investigators with cyber security experience and an independent expert to review the data in the case.

Gascón's office said it started the investigation due to a complaint from Gregg Phillips of True the Vote, a Texas nonprofit and prominent purveyor of baseless voter-fraud claims, Reuters reported.

Konnech in September filed a defamation lawsuit against Phillips and Catherine Engelbrecht of True the Vote after they made claims about information on about 1.8 million poll workers he was holding in China and that he was a Chinese operative, allegations Yu and Konnech deny, Reuters reported.

Gascón's office dismissed the charges after a federal charge in Texas held Phillips and Engelbrecht in contempt for failing to name a "confidential FBI informant," as part of the defamation case litigation, Reuters reported.

Phillips and Engelbrecht have been released, Reuters reported.

“The DA announced in court that the charges were being dismissed in the interest of justice," Yu's attorney Gary Lincenberg rebuffed in an email. "And there is no doubt that the interest of justice demanded the dismissal. Mr. Yu is an innocent man.“

Gascón's office did not respond to requests for comment from the State Journal.

In Ingham County, 55th District Judge Donald Allen also dismissed a misdemeanor charge of fugitive from justice on Oct. 17, since Yu had turned himself in to law enforcement in California, a 55th District Court employee said Wednesday.

More:East Lansing CEO arrested for alleged mishandling of Los Angeles poll worker data

Los Angeles prosecutors said in October the Yu investigation is concerned solely with the personal identifying information of election workers. Prosecutors said none of the allegations impacted the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results, prosecutors said in their statement.

The City of Detroit terminated its contract with Konnech "out of an abundance of caution," according to a statement sent to NPR station WBET.

“Mr. Yu’s good name was tarnished by false narratives from fringe conspiracy who theorists who bragged about enlisting Los Angeles prosecutors to further their political agenda," Lincenberg said. "They have since been found in contempt of court and were imprisoned for their contempt. We are grateful that our judicial system still has checks and balances to guard against their dangerous conduct.”

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at (517) 267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse. The Associated Press contributed to this report .

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Charges dropped against East Lansing CEO regarding election worker data