{"id":2261097,"date":"2024-06-06T07:45:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T11:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutor-questions-official-story-for-why-soros-backed-da-dropped-charges-against-election-software-firm\/"},"modified":"2024-06-06T07:47:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T11:47:07","slug":"prosecutor-questions-official-story-for-why-soros-backed-da-dropped-charges-against-election-software-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutor-questions-official-story-for-why-soros-backed-da-dropped-charges-against-election-software-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"DA&#8217;s Decision to Drop Charges Against Election Software Firm Challenged by Prosecutor"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fprosecutor-questions-official-story-for-why-soros-backed-da-dropped-charges-against-election-software-firm%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2261097&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Days before\u200b the 2022 midterms, LA DA Gascon charged \u200da software exec alleging data transmission \u2062to China. Trump praised the action. Gascon, under \u200dscrutiny, dropped charges and paid\u200d $5\u2062 million to exec Eugene Yu. The \u200bprosecutor leading the probe was put on \u200dleave.\u2062 Gascon&#8217;s decision received criticism and was seen as political. \u200dDays before the 2022 midterms, LA DA Gascon charged\u2062 a software\u2064 executive \u2062for sending data to China. Despite Trump&#8217;s \u200dsupport, Gascon faced backlash for dropping the charges, settling with the exec \u200cfor $5 million. The \u2062prosecutor in charge was sidelined, sparking\u2063 criticism of \u200dGascon&#8217;s move \u200cas politically motivated.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p>Days before the 2022 midterm elections, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon brought criminal charges against an executive of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-times-updates-article-that-claimed-conspiracy-theory-against-election-software-company-after-charges-announced\/\" title=\"NY Times Updates Article That Claimed \"Conspiracy Theory\" Against Election Software Company After Charges Announced\">election software company<\/a>, saying Konnech Corporation\u2019s election worker management software, PollChief, <a href=\"https:\/\/da.lacounty.gov\/media\/news\/head-election-worker-management-company-arrested-connection-theft-personal-data\">sent data to China<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But after the action attained praise from Donald Trump and other conservatives, the far-left Gascon dropped the charges, and arranged to pay the executive, Eugene Yu, $5 million. He also placed the deputy prosecutor who spearheaded the probe, Eric Neff, on leave for 18 months, implying that he had bungled the case.<\/p>\n<p>Neff has been gagged from discussing the case while he was on leave \u2014 an order which has now been lifted with the closure of the investigation into him. In an interview with The Daily Wire, he said his former employer\u2019s claims just don\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe official story on my leave they would tell you is to sort out whether I bungled the investigation,\u201d Neff said. \u201cThey can\u2019t say that now because they cleared me. Especially after they paid one of the top law firms in the country to investigate me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neff said that after conservatives concerned with election integrity praised Gascon for pressing the case, the far-left DA felt compelled to do the opposite. The New York Times said the case provided <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/11\/09\/technology\/konnech-eugene-yu-charges-dropped.html\">\u201cfodder for election deniers\u201d<\/a> despite the fact that it did not alleged that votes were changed. Yu\u2019s arrest came the day after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/03\/technology\/konnech-election-conspiracy-theories.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Times<\/a> mocked concern about Konnech Corporation as \u201cconspiracy theories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gascon\u2019s backtracking restored the narrative. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2022-11-22\/l-a-prosecutor-placed-on-leave-over-bungled-case-sparked-by-election-conspiracy-theories\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LA Times<\/a> ran the headline for the story pushed to it by three anonymous sources: \u201cL.A. prosecutor put on leave over questionable case sparked by election conspiracy theories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles went on to pay Yu $5 million, Neff says, \u201cin order to create a media narrative that there was something wrong with the case.\u201d Neff spoke before the board in his personal capacity, asking if the investigations were even complete, and if the county lawyers had read them and were familiar with the facts before approving the settlement. The board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/investigations\/la-county-pays-5-million-to-settle-alleged-baseless-prosecution-of-voting-software-provider\/3319783\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">approved<\/a> the payment without any public discussion.<\/p>\n<p>A lawyer for Yu <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kasowitz.com\/media\/client-news\/kasowitz-secures-5-million-settlement-and-proclamation-of-innocence-on-behalf-of-election-logistics-firm-and-its-founder-in-civil-rights-suit-against-la-county-da\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> at the time that the charges were \u201cutterly false\u201d and that in addition to paying $5 million, LA had agreed \u201cto publicly proclaim Mr. Yu\u2019s innocence.\u201d Neff, of course, was still bound by a gag order.<\/p>\n<p>The felony <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23131926-yu-complaint-101322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrest warrant<\/a> complaint said that although Konnech\u2019s contract with LA required only Americans to have access to the data, \u201cbased on evidence recovered from a search warrant executed October 4, 2022,\u201d employees sent personal identifying information of LA election workers to third-party developers based in China.<\/p>\n<p>On August 18, 2022, the papers said, \u201cLuis Nabergoi, project manager for Konnech\u2019s contract with the County of Los Angeles, confirmed via the messaging app DingTalk that any employee for Chinese contractors working on PollChief software had \u2018superadministration\u2019 privileges for all PollChief Clients. Mr. Nabergoi described the situation as a \u2018huge security issue.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yu\u2019s lawyer, Dean Pamphilis, did not return a request for comment from The Daily Wire asking whether these assertions were false, and how Los Angeles came to be persuaded of their falsity.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Neff filed his own claim for damages, in which he says that after reviewing evidence that indicated that Konnech\u2019s servers were resolving to a Chinese address, DA investigators \u201crecovered several explosive pieces of evidence,\u201d including statements from an employee who cooperated, and that \u201cit was immediately clear that Konnech\u2019s deception of LA County with regard to its practices with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/head-of-konnech-arrested-on-alleged-theft-of-poll-worker-information\/\" title=\"Head of Konnech arrested on alleged theft of poll worker information\">poll worker information<\/a> was even worse than initially feared. Konnech was sending sensitive PII data to Chinese-owned and operated third-party contractors through Chinese-owned and operated messaging applications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neff\u2019s grievance said that after Trump praised Gascon in October 2022, each manager up to Chief Deputy District Attorney Sharon Woo, the top non-elected prosecutor, reviewed the evidence, and approved the filing of a criminal complaint October 13.<\/p>\n<p>But in November, after the case continued to get attention from those perceived as conservative, management ordered the complaint dismissed, it said. Neff registered his objection in an email, saying that although prosecutors have discretion on what cases to bring, under California law \u201ca prosecutor cannot use political gains as a basis for dismissing a prosecution.\u201d Two days later, he was placed on \u201cadministrative leave pending an internal investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gascon announced the dismissal of the criminal case publicly on November 9, 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/charges-dropped-against-ceo-of-election-tech-company\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">saying<\/a>, \u201cWe are concerned about both the pace of the investigation and the potential bias in the presentation and investigation of the evidence\u2026 As a result, we have decided to ask the court to dismiss the current case, and alert the public in order to ensure transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than a year later, in March 2024, Neff \u201cwas informed that the investigation was completed and that no disciplinary actions would be taken against him\u201d \u2014 though he was reassigned to a less desirable position.<\/p>\n<p>Gascon\u2019s office did not return a request for comment from The Daily Wire, including which facts in the indictment were wrong, and how it could be that the case was so egregiously wrong that the defendant was paid millions of dollars yet Neff did not do anything warranting punishment. It is rare for prosecutors to pay lawsuit settlements to people who are charged with crimes even if the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/let-us-prey-how-a-christian-suicide-bomber-exposed-muslims-faking-conversions-to-avoid-deportation\/\" title=\"Let Us Prey? How A \u2018Christian\u2019 Suicide Bomber Exposed Muslims Faking Conversions To Avoid Deportation\">criminal cases brought<\/a> against them are flimsy.<\/p>\n<p>In September 2022, Konnech sued the Texas-based group True the Vote, which has made allegations about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, for defamation and computer fraud, and claimed its accusations against Yu <a href=\"https:\/\/www.votebeat.org\/texas\/2022\/9\/14\/23353874\/true-the-vote-konnech-lawsuit-catherine-englebrecht-gregg-phillips-tiger-project\/\">stemmed<\/a> from \u201cracism and xenophobia.\u201d True the Vote said it played a \u201csmall role\u201d in the LA case.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2022, Konnech employee Grant Bradley sued Yu and the firm, <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/CC-Summons-And-Complaint-COMPLAINT-FILED-WITH-FEE-22-000853-CZ-C30-CZ-OTHER-GENERAL-CIVIL.pdf\">alleging<\/a> that he \u201cwitnessed customer\u2019s data (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblower-yes-election-data-company-gave-u-s-poll-workers-personal-info-to-china\/\" title=\"Whistleblower: Yes, Election Data Company Gave U.S. Poll Workers\u2019 Personal Info To China\">specifically poll watcher information<\/a>) being made accessible to foreign nationals from China,\u201d and that managers instructed him not to worry about it because \u201ceveryone\u201d was using Chinese programmers. He also said Yu solicited him to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kenosha-flips-red-after-decades-of-democrat-leadership\/\" title=\"Kenosha Flips Red After Decades of Democrat Leadership\">violate campaign finance law<\/a> by making a donation to a politician for which he would be reimbursed by Yu.<\/p>\n<p>The case was dismissed \u201cwith prejudice and without costs or fees\u201d in February 2024, according to court records, suggesting a possible settlement.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shortly before the 2022 midterms, LA DA Gascon pressed charges against an election software exec, alleging data transmission to China. Trump and conservatives applauded the move. Gascon, known for far-left views, later withdrew the charges amid criticism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":2261098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/08\/368A312C-88C3-4354-95BB-0A14F237DACA_1_201_a.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2261097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/08\/368A312C-88C3-4354-95BB-0A14F237DACA_1_201_a.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2261097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2261098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2261097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2261097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2261097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}