By America’s border-security agency placed a Chinese national in a supervisory position at the Maine-Canada border. The FBI now says he used that access to strip valuable components from dozens of Homeland Security computers, replace them with inferior parts and trade the government equipment for store credit.
Terry “Jiajia” Liu, 39, of Calais, was ordered detained Friday as a flight risk following a hearing in U.S. District Court in Bangor. A federal magistrate had already held him without bail after his initial appearance Thursday, according to The Maine Wire.
Liu is charged with theft of government property and damage to government property. Prosecutors say he altered 46 U.S. Customs and Border Protection computers at three ports of entry: 38 in Calais, six at Ferry Point and two at Milltown. Thirty-nine machines had processors replaced, six had memory swapped and eight had hard drives changed. Some were altered in more than one way, and many were later reconnected to the CBP network.
The government estimates that restoring the original components would cost approximately $20,460. Replacing all 46 computers would cost about $105,800, before the additional expense of configuring the new machines for government use.
According to an FBI affidavit by Special Agent Christopher J. White, Liu was a CBP supervisor assigned to the Calais Port of Entry, with responsibilities extending to Ferry Point and Milltown. Liu had limited information-technology duties but was not authorized to modify agency computers.
Port Director Theodore Cummings made that restriction explicit in a March 18, 2025, email following a conversation with Liu: “Please do not move any computers or computer parts.” Cummings added that CBP computers were to be serviced by agency IT personnel and instructed employees to “stay in our lane and report deficiencies through the work ticket process.”
Investigators say Liu ignored the warning. Original 14th-generation Intel processors were allegedly replaced with older chips or Intel Pentium models. Some computers also contained less memory or storage than their original configurations.
The missing components apparently had not gone far. Investigators say Liu sent 13 emails from a personal account to his official CBP address containing Newegg trade-in labels and summaries for processors matching the missing government equipment. The offers were worth $200 or $210 each.
Newegg records showed that Liu received credit for trading in 14th-generation Intel Core i7 processors 16 times between May 2025 and July 2026, according to the affidavit. Investigators also found three $200 Newegg credits in his American Express records.
The criminal complaint charges Liu with stealing 10 Intel processors worth more than $1,000 between approximately May 2025 and January 2026. A second count accuses him of damaging or attempting to damage CBP computers between January and March 2026, causing more than $1,000 in damage.
Hidden Cameras Catch the Computer Swap
Investigators eventually installed hidden cameras inside the border facility. During an overnight shift Jan. 9, shortly after midnight, Liu allegedly carried computers into a training room, removed their side panels and began working on the components with what appeared to be a screwdriver.
The camera recorded Liu removing a processor, scraping away thermal paste, installing a replacement and moving components between machines, according to the FBI. Liu then allegedly connected monitors, keyboards and network cables to test the altered computers. Investigators said he appeared to log into one of the modified machines using his government identification.
Another camera positioned above Liu’s desk later recorded him removing a memory module, placing it in a drawer and carrying the computer into a server room to connect it.
The overnight schedule gave Liu the opportunity to work largely alone. One supervisor frequently covered the open ports during midnight shifts. Traffic at the Calais facility was directed to the cargo side, while Liu’s assigned desk was on the passenger side.
During a Sept. 9 interview, Liu admitted replacing CBP components with older parts purchased from Amazon and Newegg and using the government equipment to obtain trade-in credit, the affidavit says.
His explanation changed under questioning. Liu initially claimed he was attempting to make the computers more efficient. He later acknowledged that the substitutions degraded their performance and said he altered the machines because he was angry about how long CBP took to complete computer repairs.
The affidavit does not allege that Liu installed malware, transmitted government information outside the agency or substituted the hardware as part of an espionage operation. It also presents no evidence connecting him to the Chinese Communist Party.
That distinction matters. But the case still raises an obvious question: How did a Chinese national obtain supervisory access to government computers at an American border post and allegedly continue dismantling them after receiving a direct written warning?
It is the same basic institutional question raised by several cases previously covered by New Conservative Post: American officials repeatedly discover potentially serious security vulnerabilities only after access has already been granted.
In February, New Conservative Post reported that federal authorities charged a former Air Force major and F-35 instructor pilot with illegally providing combat training to Chinese military aviators. In August, NCP reported that a man with extensive ties to Chinese security and United Front organizations had purchased a building roughly 650 feet from the White House.
NCP has also documented China’s quieter attempts to cultivate American institutions. A July report found that prominent American journalists participated in China trips arranged by a foundation whose representatives described the programs as a way to generate favorable coverage of Beijing. Another investigation examined Chinese-linked donations and political relationships surrounding California Treasurer Fiona Ma.
There is no evidence connecting Liu’s alleged conduct to those influence or national-security cases. But they all expose a government that appears far better at investigating questionable access after the fact than preventing it in the first place.
Arrested as Alleged Flight Risk
A Washington County source told The Maine Wire that Liu was arrested Wednesday at Bangor International Airport while attempting to catch a flight to China. Public court records do not independently confirm the circumstances of his arrest.
Liu’s Poole Street property in Calais, purchased in 2018 and located near the Canadian border, was raided Thursday by individuals whom local residents believed were FBI agents. He was booked into the Penobscot County Jail on Thursday morning and later transferred to another facility.
According to a Washington County source, Jia Jia Liu’s Poole Street property in Calais — located on the Canadian border — was raided by what locals believed to be FBI agents on Thursday as well.
The source said Liu, who held a job as a customs officer at the Ferry Point Bridge,… https://t.co/yYtTKOJ1Kb
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) September 11, 2026
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Ruge argued that Liu should remain detained because of his recent and frequent international travel, foreign connections, financial resources and residence near the Canadian border. Prosecutors argued that the house was close enough to Canada that an ankle monitor might not prevent Liu from leaving the court’s jurisdiction.
The FBI described Liu as a significant flight risk and said the charges could weaken any remaining ties he had to the United States. Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison ordered him held.
Liu has described himself as a native of Guangzhou, China. His Facebook page includes images suggesting that he voted in the 2020 election, although his citizenship and immigration history are not clearly established in the publicly available court records.
Before moving to Maine, Liu lived in Oklahoma, where records and social-media posts indicate that he attended college, worked for the government and briefly held a cannabis license connected to Jliu Farm LLC in Webbers Falls.
Liu has not entered a plea to the charges, which remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
[READ MORE: AOC and Mamdani Caught Chuckling At 9-11 Remembrance]
