Judge: Chinese nuclear espionage suspect hiding cash

An engineer accused of stealing nuclear secrets for China is swimming in hidden cash he could use to flee the U.S., making it too risky to allow him to go free pending trial, a judge has ruled.

Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan rebuffed a full-court press by the defense team for Szuhsiung "Allen" Ho -- including promises of a $3 million bond and a private security firm -- to win Ho's freedom pending trial in the nation's first case in which the Chinese government is accused of using an agent to buy American nuclear know-how.

Ho, his firm Energy Technology International, and Chinese nuclear power plant China General Nuclear Power were indicted in April in U.S. District Court on charges of a plot to lure nuclear experts in the U.S. into providing information to allow China to develop and produce nuclear material based on American technology and below the radar of the U.S. government.

It is the first such case in the nation brought under a provision of law that regulates the sharing of U.S. nuclear technology with certain countries deemed untrustworthy to see it. Although the technology is used for nuclear-power generation, the byproduct of that process can be used to produce nuclear weapons.

Ho's defense team has been trying to win his freedom pending trial for months now. Each time they lose, Ho ups the ante he is willing to pay. He initially promised a $1 million bond but then boosted it to $3 million. He offered up a $2 million home as collateral. In his most recent bid, Ho even vowed to hire a private security team to track him.

But Varlan opined those financial assurances offer proof that Ho -- who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Taiwan, works for the Chinese government and spends most of his time in China -- lied about his resources when first arrested.

"When initially asked about monthly income, the defendant approximated his income at $1,800 a month and that he has very little money in his savings and checking account," Varlan wrote. "Despite those representations, there is evidence that over the course of five years, the defendant has wired over $3.8 million from one of his bank accounts in China to a bank account he maintains in the United States."

Varlan noted Ho bought a pricey home for his wife, maintains a separate home in China for himself, his son and the boy's "surrogate" mother, has retained a team of high-priced lawyers, had a "random code generator designed to enable him to remotely access accounts with the Bank of China when arrested," and is willing to fork out $45,000 for private security.

"It appears the defendant has not been completely forthright regarding his income and bank accounts," Varlan wrote. "The court finds there is substantial evidence the defendant has significant financial resources, particularly in China. The court finds this fact, coupled with (Ho's) ties to other countries, is strong evidence that (he) has both the motive and the means to flee."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Atchley Jr. has argued Ho is employed by the Chinese government, which has refused to even acknowledge the indictment involving its power company, giving that country motive to help Ho flee. Varlan agreed.

"(Ho) has significant ties to the government of China," the judge wrote. "Furthermore, should the defendant flee to China, the United States cannot procure his return because there is no extradition treaty with China."

Also this week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton turned down a bid by Ho's defenders to either transfer him to a detention facility in Atlanta or force the U.S. Marshals Service to take him to attorney Wade Davies' Knoxville office three times a week to work on his defense. It is an unprecedented request in this federal district. Ho complained he couldn't meet face-to-face with his lawyers at the Blount County jail, where he is being housed, was forced to read court documents on his bed because he has no table in his cell and didn't have enough paper and pencils.

Guyton said either request would put a strain on marshals, who handle federal inmates detained in local jails, and that Ho's situation was no different from any other federal defendant.

"The court finds that the United States marshals and the Blount County Detention Facility have provided the defendant a reasonable opportunity to consult privately with his attorneys, both in person and by telephone," Guyton wrote.