Ex-GE engineer sentenced over China-related conspiracy
New York jury convicts engineer who conspired to steal secrets related to turbines | Assistant AG describes behaviour as “textbook economic espionage”.
A former engineer at General Electric (GE) has been sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to steal GE’s trade secrets to benefit himself and China.
Xiaoqing Zheng had been convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage in April this year by a New York jury, following a four-week trial.
In a release shared yesterday, December 3, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that, in addition to the two years in prison, Zheng must pay a $7,500 fine and serve one year of post-imprisonment supervised release.
According to the DoJ, Zheng was employed at GE Power & Water in New York as an engineer specialising in sealing technology.
He had allegedly conspired to steal trade secrets covering GE’s ground-based and aviation-based turbine technologies, knowing or intending to benefit China.
Assistant attorney general Matthew Olsen of the DoJ’s National Security Division, said: “This is a case of textbook economic espionage. Zheng exploited his position of trust, betrayed his employer and conspired with the government of China to steal innovative American technology.
“The Justice Department will hold accountable those who threaten our national security by conniving to steal valuable trade secrets on behalf of a foreign power.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
While Zheng was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, the jury acquitted the former engineer of two counts of economic espionage and two counts of trade secret theft.
The jury could not reach a verdict on one count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, two counts of economic espionage, three counts of trade secret theft, and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.
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