Overview
- Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., 65, was taken into custody in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and charged under the Arms Export Control Act for providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots.
- Charging documents allege he began arranging the training in August 2023, traveled to China in December 2023, and remained there until returning to the United States in early February 2026.
- The complaint links Brown’s arrangements to intermediaries associated with Chinese national Stephen Su Bin, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring to hack U.S. defense contractors.
- Prosecutors say Brown answered extensive questions about the U.S. Air Force upon arrival in China and presented a briefing to People’s Liberation Army Air Force personnel.
- He is expected to make his initial court appearance in the Southern District of Indiana as the FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division and D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office lead the case, which officials note echoes prior prosecutions of Western pilots.