New York Resident Convicted of Trying to Steal Trade Secrets to Start Business in China
A federal jury this week convicted New York resident Ji Wang on charges of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets after the U.S. said he stole information about optical fibers for high-powered lasers and planned to use that information to start a business in China.
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Wang, who was investigated in part by the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement, was convicted on two counts of economic espionage, one count of theft of trade secrets, one count of attempted economic espionage, and one count of attempted theft of trade secrets. John Eisenberg, DOJ's assistant attorney general for national security, said Wang stole "sensitive defense research" from his employer, optical fiber company Corning Inc., and tried to "use it to pursue personal profit at the expense [of] our national security. We are committed to combating economic espionage and holding accountable those who disregard our export-control laws and the security of U.S. technology."
DOJ said that between 2002 and 2007, Wang was assigned to work on a joint research and development project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Corning, where he was tasked with helping to develop optical fibers for high-powered lasers with military and commercial uses. The agency said Wang stole "hundreds" of files from the DARPA project in 2016, including trade-secret manufacturing technology that would have allowed him to "fabricate all manner of specialty optical fibers, including for fiber lasers."
Ten days before he stole the files, DOJ said, Wang applied for -- and was eventually selected to receive - China’s Thousand Talents Plan Award, part of a program that incentivizes Chinese-born people to return to China by promising "millions of dollars of investment" to work in certain science and technology fields. DOJ said Wang negotiated with the Chinese government to start a specialty fiber business in China from at least 2014 through 2017, and he was set to receive tens of millions of dollars in investment from Chinese government entities, which would have been shareholders in the business.
Wang’s business plans showed he intended to use the stolen trade secrets to start the business, the agency said. Wang also said the fibers could be used for Chinese military vehicles and could “be key to deciding victory or defeat," according to the DOJ. U.S. law enforcement "disrupted Wang’s efforts before he was able to start a new business and exploit the technology he stole."
Wang faces a maximum 15-year prison sentence for economic espionage and a 10-year prison sentence for theft of trade secrets.