Adrian JohnsonTLDR:
Los Angeles County has agreed to pay a $5 million settlement to Eugene Yu, the founder and CEO of software company Konnech Corp, over his arrest and prosecution in 2022. Yu was accused of stealing data on county poll workers after allegations emerged that Konnech had violated its contract by storing data on servers in China. The case was dropped 37 days later, but Yu filed a lawsuit against the county, claiming that he was falsely targeted based on conspiracy theories. The settlement resolves the lawsuit and compensates Yu and his company for the damage to their reputation and business.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the settlement without public discussion. County lawyers had recommended the settlement in a letter to the board. Yu’s attorney, Dean Z. Pamphilis, stated that the “utterly false charges” and resulting negative publicity had cost Yu his life savings and Konnech over 50% of its customers. The attorney expressed Yu’s satisfaction with the settlement, noting that his innocence had been “publicly confirmed.”
According to Yu’s lawsuit, the prosecution of him and his company was based on debunked conspiracy theories that alleged Konnech had secret ties to the Chinese Communist Party and had supplied information for a Chinese campaign to manipulate votes. The lawsuit also claimed that Yu had received threats and had to go into hiding. Yu’s lawyer noted that Los Angeles County continues to use Konnech’s services and is the company’s largest customer.
Overall, the settlement highlights the potential consequences of baseless accusations and conspiracy theories on individuals and businesses. The case also underscores the importance of safeguarding personal and sensitive data in the field of election technology.
