Lansing (MI) chemist convicted of stealing $120 million in trade secrets for Chinese company
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2021/04/23/lansing-chemist-convicted-stealing-trade-secrets-chinese-company/7348344002/
Lansing chemist convicted of stealing $120 million in trade secrets for Chinese company
A Lansing chemist was convicted Thursday of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Xiaorong You, also known as Shannon You, was convicted after a 12-day trial of stealing trade secrets from Coca-Cola and Eastman Chemical Co. when she worked there, according to a DOJ press release.
You stole trade secrets related to information about BPA-free coatings for the inside of beverage cans and set up her own BPA-free coating company in China, according to the DOJ news release. The stolen trade secrets cost nearly $120 million to develop.
You and her Chinese corporate partner, Weihai Jinhong Group, received millions of dollars in government grants in China to support the new company, according to the release.
BPA is used to coat the inside of cans and containers to help minimize flavor loss and stop the container from reacting with the food or beverage inside, according to the DOJ release. But once potential health risks from BPA became known, companies developed BPA-free alternatives, which was a "very expensive and time-consuming process," according to the release.
You worked at Coca-Cola from December 2012 through August 2017 as a principal engineer for global research and at Eastman Chemical Co. from September 2017 to June 2018. She was one of a limited number of employees with access to the BPA-free trade secrets at both companies.
You worked as a principle engineer at XG Sciences in Lansing from August 2018 to the time of her arrest in February 2019, according to court records.
You was convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud.
She is set to be sentenced in November.
NOTE: You and her alleged co-conspirator, Liu Xiangchen, reportedly agreed to be sponsored by an unnamed Chinese company and apply for a program called Thousand Talents , the indictment said.'''
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2021/04/23/lansing-chemist-convicted-stealing-trade-secrets-chinese-company/7348344002/
Chinese Intelligence Officer Charged with Economic Espionage Involving Theft of Trade Secrets from Leading U.S. Aviation Companies
A Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operative, Yanjun Xu, aka Qu Hui, aka Zhang Hui, has been arrested and charged with conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and steal trade secrets from multiple U.S. aviation and aerospace companies. Xu was extradited to the United States yesterday.
The charges were announced today by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Benjamin C. Glassman, Assistant Director Bill Priestap of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, and Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division.
“This indictment alleges that a Chinese intelligence officer sought to steal trade secrets and other sensitive information from an American company that leads the way in aerospace,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “This case is not an isolated incident. It is part of an overall economic policy of developing China at American expense. We cannot tolerate a nation’s stealing our firepower and the fruits of our brainpower. We will not tolerate a nation that reaps what it does not sow.”
“Innovation in aviation has been a hallmark of life and industry in the United States since the Wright brothers first designed gliders in Dayton more than a century ago,” said U.S. Attorney Glassman. “U.S. aerospace companies invest decades of time and billions of dollars in research. This is the American way. In contrast, according to the indictment, a Chinese intelligence officer tried to acquire that same, hard-earned innovation through theft. This case shows that federal law enforcement authorities can not only detect and disrupt such espionage, but can also catch its perpetrators. The defendant will now face trial in federal court in Cincinnati.”
"This unprecedented extradition of a Chinese intelligence officer exposes the Chinese government's direct oversight of economic espionage against the United States,” said Assistant Director Priestap.
Yanjun Xu is a Deputy Division Director with the MSS’s Jiangsu State Security Department, Sixth Bureau. The MSS is the intelligence and security agency for China and is responsible for counter-intelligence, foreign intelligence and political security. MSS has broad powers in China to conduct espionage both domestically and abroad.
Xu was arrested in Belgium on April 1, pursuant to a federal complaint, and then indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Ohio. The government unsealed the charges today, following his extradition to the United States. The four-count indictment charges Xu with conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chinese-intelligence-officer-charged-economic-espionage-involving-theft-trade-secrets-leading