Ccharges against the CEO of an election software company connected to an investigation into the theft of personal information have been dropped.
George Gascon, district attorney for Los Angeles County, California, has dropped all charges against Eugene Yu, the CEO of election software company Konnech, citing “potential bias” and the “pace of the investigation,” according to Reuters.
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“We are concerned about both the pace of the investigation and the potential bias in the presentation and investigation of the evidence,” Gascon said in a statement. “As a result, we have decided to ask the court to dismiss the current case, and alert the public in order to ensure transparency.”
Yu was arrested on Oct. 4 in connection to an investigation into the theft of confidential data. Konnech sells and distributes software that helps states administer elections, schedule poll workers, and handle payroll. Los Angeles County is one of its customers.
According to its contract with Los Angeles County, Konnech is to store the personal information it collects securely and in such a way that only US citizens and permanent residents have access to it. However, investigators with the district attorney’s office found that the information was being stored on servers in China.
Officials with Konnech have denied these accusations.
The investigation into the Michigan-based software firm was opened after several groups challenged the results of the 2020 election and alleged the software company was storing information on China-based servers. According to Reutersthe Texas-based group True the Vote was among those to complain.
In September, Konnech filed a defamation suit against True the Vote members Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips over claims the company allowed the Chinese government to access the personal information of election workers.
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Engelbrecht and former board member Phillips, who founded the group, were jailed for contempt of court on Oct. 31. The contempt charge stemmed from the pair’s refusal to name the person who helped them tap into Konnech’s computer systems, defying a judge’s order related to the defamation case.
Englebrecht and Phillips were released on Nov. 7 following an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. They still have not named their source, according to the Texas Tribune.