From ABC News, 18 Oct 2011: A Chinese national has pleaded guilty to economic espionage for providing trade secrets from agricultural firms Dow and Cargill to the Chinese government. Kexue Huang, pleaded guilty to one charge of economic espionage before a federal judge in Indiana, admitting that while he worked at Dow AgroSciences LLC and Cargill he obtained and transferred to China trade secrets from the companies. . . . The court papers note that one of the unindicted co-conspirators was a Chinese exchange student studying at the Technical University in Dresden, Germany, who later moved to the Hunan Normal University in China.
“In stealing, transferring and using the trade secrets, Kexue Huang, a/k/a ‘John,’ intended to benefit Hunan Normal University, the national Natural Science Foundation and the 863 Program. Each of these entities is a foreign instrumentality of the People’s Republic of China,” the plea agreement said. Program 863 is known as the “National High Technology Research and Development Program of China,” according to the indictment.
. . . . The plea agreement estimates that Huang cost the two companies $7 million to $20 million in damages. . . [Read More]
“Today’s plea underscores the continuing threat posed by the theft of business secrets for the benefit of China and other nations.” — Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets [DOJ Press Release, 18 Oct 2011]
