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china-initiative-and-compilation-china-related
INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE'S CHINA INITIATIVE AND A
COMPILATION OF CHINA-RELATED PROSECUTIONS SINCE 2018
Last Updated November 19, 2021
BACKGROUND
About 80 percent of all economic espionage prosecutions brought by the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) allege conduct that would benefit the Chinese
state, and there is at least some nexus to China in around 60 percent of all
trade secret theft cases.
The Department of Justice’s China Initiative reflects the strategic
priority of countering Chinese national security threats and reinforces the
President’s overall national security strategy. The Initiative was launched
against the background of previous findings by the Administration
concerning China’s practices. In March 2018, the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative announced the results of an investigation of China’s trade
practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. It concluded, among
other things, that a combination of China’s practices are unreasonable,
including its outbound investment policies and sponsorship of unauthorized
computer intrusions, and that “[a] range of tools may be appropriate to
address these serious matters.”
In June 2018, the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy
issued a report on “How China’s Economic Aggression Threatens the
Technologies and Intellectual Property of the United States and the World,”
documenting “the two major strategies and various acts, policies, and
practices Chinese industrial policy uses in seeking to acquire the
intellectual property and technologies of the world and to capture the
emerging high- technology industries that will drive future economic growth.”
In addition to identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret
theft, hacking, and economic espionage, the Initiative focuses on protecting
our critical infrastructure against external threats through foreign direct
investment and supply chain compromises, as well as combatting covert
efforts to influence the American public and policymakers without proper
transparency.
The China Initiative is led by the Department’s National Security Division
(NSD), which is responsible for countering nation-state threats to the
United States.
CHINA INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP AND STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The National Security Division
U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California
Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division
Executive Assistant Director, National Security Branch, FBI
U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Texas
U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of New York
U.S. Attorney, District of Massachusetts
U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Alabama
COMPONENTS OF INITIATIVE
The Attorney General set the following goals for the Initiative:
Identify priority trade secret theft cases, ensure that investigations are
adequately resourced, and work to bring them to fruition in a timely manner
and according to the facts and applicable law;
Develop an enforcement strategy concerning non-traditional collectors (e.g.,
researchers in labs, universities and the defense industrial base) that are
being coopted into transferring technology contrary to U.S. interests;
Educate colleges and universities about potential threats to academic
freedom and open discourse from influence efforts on campus;
Apply the Foreign Agents Registration Act to unregistered agents seeking to
advance China’s political agenda, bringing enforcement actions when
appropriate;
Equip the nation’s U.S. Attorneys with intelligence and materials they can
use to raise awareness of these threats within their Districts and support
their outreach efforts;
Implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) for
DOJ (including by working with Treasury to develop regulations under the
statute and prepare for increased workflow);
Identify opportunities to better address supply chain threats, especially
those impacting the telecommunications sector, prior to the transition to 5G
networks;
Identify Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases involving Chinese
companies that compete with American businesses;
Increase efforts to improve Chinese responses to requests under the Mutual
Legal Assistance Agreement (MLAA) with the United States; and
Evaluate whether additional legislative and administrative authorities are
required to protect our national assets from foreign economic aggression.
CHINA-RELATED CASES EXAMPLES
November 5, 2021
Jury Convicts Chinese Intelligence Officer of Espionage Crimes, Attempting
to Steal Trade Secrets
A federal jury today convicted Yanjun Xu, a Chinese national and Deputy
Division Director of the Sixth Bureau of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of
State Security, of conspiring to and attempting to commit economic espionage
and theft of trade secrets. The defendant is the first Chinese intelligence
officer to be extradited to the United States to stand trial.
September 24, 2021
Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Admits to Misleading Global Financial Institution
The Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Wanzhou Meng,
49, of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), appeared in federal district
court in Brooklyn, to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and
was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy
to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud.
July 19, 2021
Four Chinese Nationals Working with the Ministry of State Security Charged
with Global Computer Intrusion Campaign Targeting Intellectual Property and
Confidential Business Information, Including Infectious Disease Research
The Department unsealed an indictment which charged four PRC nationals,
three of whom were officers in the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS),
with participating in a wide-ranging global computer intrusion campaign
targeting infectious disease research, among other things. The unsealing was
followed by a global condemnation of malicious PRC cyber activities by the
European Union and other countries.
May 14, 2021
University Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Lying on Grant Applications to
Develop Scientific Expertise for China
Following his November 2020 guilty plea, an Ohio man and rheumatology
professor and researcher with strong ties to China was sentenced to 37
months in prison for making false statements to federal authorities as part
of an immunology research fraud scheme. As part of his sentence, Zheng was
also ordered to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to the National
Institute of Health (NIH) and approximately $413,000 to The Ohio State
University.
April 28, 2021
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Exports to Northwestern
Polytechnical University
A Chinese national pleaded guilty to charges in connection with causing the
illegal export of $100,000 worth of U.S. origin goods to Northwestern
Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military university that is
heavily involved in military research. He was sentenced on Sept. 9 to two
years in prison.
April 22, 2021
Ph.D. Chemist Convicted of Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets, Economic
Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets and Wire Fraud
Following her February 2019 indictment and a twelve-day trial, Dr. Xiaorong
You, aka Shannon You, 59, of Lansing, Michigan, 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 scheduled to be sentenced in April 2022.
April 21, 2021
Mathematics Professor and University Researcher Indicted for Grant Fraud
A federal grand jury in Carbondale, Ill. returned an indictment charging a
mathematics professor and researcher at Southern Illinois University –
Carbondale (SIUC) with two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a
false statement. A status report is due to the court by March 29, 2022.
April 20, 2021
Hospital Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Steal Trade
Secrets and Sell to China
Following his December 2020 guilty plea, an Ohio man was sentenced to 33
months in prison for conspiring to steal exosome-related trade secrets
concerning the research, identification and treatment of a range of
pediatric medical conditions.
April 13, 2021
Justice Department Announces Court-Authorized Effort to Disrupt Exploitation
of Microsoft Exchange Server Vulnerabilities
The Department announced it had conducted a court-authorized operation to
remove malicious web shells from hundreds of vulnerable computers in the
United States running on-premises versions of MS Exchange software. These
web shells had been placed on victim servers by cyber actors employed by or
associated with the PRC government, which could have used the web shells to
maintain and escalate persistent, unauthorized access to U.S. networks.
March 5, 2021
California Man Sentenced for Illegally Exporting Cesium Atomic Clocks to
Hong Kong
A California man was sentenced in federal court for illegally exporting
cesium atomic clocks to Hong Kong. A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced the
individual to time served and three years of supervised release.
February 26, 2021
Chinese Businessman Charged With Conspiring To Steal Trade Secrets
A Chinese businessman was indicted for conspiring to steal General Electric
’s (GE) trade secrets involving the company’s silicon carbide MOSFET
technology worth millions of dollars.
February 3, 2021
Former University of Florida Researcher Indicted for Scheme to Defraud
National Institutes of Health and University of Florida
A former University of Florida (UF) professor, researcher and resident of
China has been indicted for fraudulently obtaining $1.75 million in federal
grant money from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The former UF
professor is accused of concealing support he received from the Chinese
government and a company that he founded in China to profit from that
research. Yang traveled to China in August of 2019 and has yet to return to
the United States.
February 1, 2021
Hospital Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Steal Trade
Secrets, Sell Them in China
A former hospital researcher, Li Chen, was sentenced to 30 months in prison
following her July 2020 guilty plea, for conspiring to steal American
research concerning the identification and treatment of a range of pediatric
medical conditions. The convicted received benefits from the Chinese
government in exchange for trade secrets, and will forfeit approximately $1.
25 million in punitive fees, 500,000 shares of stock, and $2.6 million in
restitution as part of her sentence. Co-defendant and husband Yu Zhou
pleaded guilty in December 2020 and was sentenced in April 2021 to 33 months
' imprisonment, $10,000 fine, and restitution in the amount of $2,616,087.00
to be paid jointly with co-defendant, Li Chen.
January 29, 2021
Chinese National Charged with Criminal Conspiracy to Export U.S. Power
Amplifiers to China
An indictment was unsealed against a 45-year-old national of the People’s
Republic of China, charging the man with participating in a criminal
conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws by shipping U.S. power amplifiers to
China.
January 20, 2021
MIT Professor Indicted on Charges Relating to Grant Fraud
A professor and researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
was indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with failing to disclose
contracts, appointments and awards from various entities in the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) to the U.S. Department of Energy.
December 18, 2020
China-Based Executive At U.S. Telecommunications Company Charged With
Disrupting Video Meetings Commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre
A telecommunications employee allegedly participated in a scheme to disrupt
a series of meetings in May and June 2020 held to commemorate the Tiananmen
Square massacre in the People’s Republic of China. A federal court in
Brooklyn charged with conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and
unlawful conspiracy to transfer a means of identification.
October 29, 2020
Chinese Energy Company, U.S. Oil & Gas Affiliate and Chinese National
Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets
A federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging corporate entities
conspired to steal technology from a Houston-area oil & gas manufacturer.
The defendant remains wanted by the FBI for purported theft of trade secrets.
October 28, 2020
Taiwan Company Pleads Guilty to Trade Secret Theft in Criminal Case
Involving PRC State-Owned Company
Pursuant to a 2018 indictment. United Microelectronics Corporation, Inc. (
UMC), a Taiwan semiconductor foundry, pleaded guilty to criminal trade
secret theft and was sentenced to pay a $60 million fine, in exchange for
its agreement to cooperate with the government in the investigation and
prosecution of its co-defendant, a Chinese state-owned-enterprise.
October 28, 2020
Eight Individuals Charged With Conspiring to Act as Illegal Agents of the
People’s Republic of China
A complaint and arrest warrants were unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn
charging eight defendants with conspiring to act in the United States as
illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The defendants,
allegedly acting at the direction and under the control of PRC government
officials, conducted surveillance of and engaged in a campaign to harass,
stalk, and coerce certain residents of the United States to return to the
PRC as part of a global,l repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.
”
A superseding indictment filed in July 2021 added charges and another
defendant.
October 9, 2020
Singaporean National Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Acting in the
United States As an Illegal Agent of Chinese Intelligence
Jun Wei Yeo, aka Dickson Yeo, was sentenced in federal court to 14 months in
prison. Yeo pleaded guilty on July 24, 2020 to acting within the United
States as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the
Attorney General.
September 21, 2020
New York City Police Department Officer Charged with Acting As an Illegal
Agent of the People’s Republic of China
A criminal complaint charged Baimadajie Angwang, 33, a New York City Police
Department officer and U.S. Army reservist, with acting as an illegal agent
of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as well as committing wire fraud,
making false statements and obstructing an official proceeding.
September 16, 2020
Seven International Cyber Defendants, Including “Apt41” Actors, Charged In
Connection With Computer Intrusion Campaigns Against More Than 100 Victims
Globally
In August 2019 and August 2020, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C.,
returned two separate indictments charging five computer hackers, all of
whom were residents and nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
with computer intrusions affecting over 100 victim companies in the United
States and abroad, including software development companies, computer
hardware manufacturers, telecommunications providers, social media companies
, video game companies, non-profit organizations, universities, think tanks,
and foreign governments, as well as pro-democracy politicians and activists
in Hong Kong.
September 16, 2020
Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Illegally Exporting
Maritime Raiding Craft and Engines to China
Yang Yang, 34, of Jacksonville, one of four defendants indicted in November
2019, pleaded guilty to conspiring to submit false export information; to
fraudulently export to China maritime raiding craft and engines; and to
attempting to fraudulently export that equipment. On Sept. 15, 2020, Yang
Yang was sentenced to time-served, or the equivalent of 14 months’
imprisonment. Co-defendant Ge Songtao was sentenced to three years and six
months in prison in July 2021. In November 2021, co-defendant Fan Yang was
convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy and lying during security
clearance background investigations. Fan Yang is scheduled to be sentenced
on March 16, 2022.
September 15, 2020
Former Employee At Los Alamos National Laboratory Sentenced To Probation For
Making False Statements About Being Employed By China
Turab Lookman, 68, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was sentenced on Sept. 11 to
five years of probation and a $75,000 fine for providing a false statement
to the Department of Energy. Lookman is not allowed to leave New Mexico for
the term of his probation.
August 24, 2020
NASA Researcher Arrested for False Statements and Wire Fraud in Relation to
China’s Talents Program
A criminal complaint has been unsealed today, charging Zhengdong Cheng, 53,
of College Station, Texas, for conspiracy, making false statements and wire
fraud. He was subsequently charged by indictment on Sept. 17, 2020 and is
scheduled to go to trial on April 4, 2022.
August 17, 2020
Former CIA Officer Arrested and Charged with Espionage
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 67, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
officer, was arrested on Aug. 14, 2020, on a charge that he conspired with a
relative of his who also was a former CIA officer to communicate classified
information up to the Top-Secret level to intelligence officials of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Criminal complaint containing the
charge was unsealed this morning.
August 6, 2020
Company President and Employee Arrested in Alleged Scheme to Violate the
Export Control Reform Act
Chong Sik Yu, aka Chris Yu, and Yunseo Lee were arrested and charged with
conspiring to unlawfully export dual-use electronics components, in
violation of the Export Control Reform Act, and to commit wire fraud, bank
fraud, and money laundering.
July 21, 2020
Two Chinese Hackers Working with the Ministry of State Security Charged with
Global Computer Intrusion Campaign Targeting Intellectual Property and
Confidential Business Information, Including COVID-19 Research
A federal grand jury in Spokane, Washington, returned an indictment
charging two hackers, both nationals and residents of the People’s Republic
of China, with hacking into the computer systems of hundreds of victim
companies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and individual
dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United
States and abroad.The defendants in some instances acted for their own
personal financial gain, and in others for the benefit of the MSS or other
Chinese government agencies. The defendants remain wanted by the FBI.
June 26, 2020
Chinese Citizen Convicted of Economic Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets, and
Conspiracy
Hao Zhang, 41, of China, was found guilty of economic espionage, theft of
trade secrets, and conspiring to commit both offenses today, announced the
Department of Justice. The ruling was handed down by the Honorable Edward J
. Davila, U.S. District Judge, following a four-day bench trial. He was
sentenced to 18 months in prison in September 2020.
June 17, 2020
Team Telecom Recommends that the FCC Deny Pacific Light Cable Network System
’s Hong Kong Undersea Cable Connection to the United States
Team Telecom recommended to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
based on national security concerns, that the FCC partially deny the Pacific
Light Cable Network (PLCN) subsea cable system application, to the extent
it seeks a direct connection between the United States and Hong Kong.
June 9, 2020
Harvard University Professor Indicted on False Statement Charges
The former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Department was indicted on charges of making false statements to federal
authorities regarding his participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program
. Dr. Charles Lieber, 61, was arrested on Jan. 28, 2020 and charged by
criminal complaint. A superseding indictment, returned in July 2020, further
charged Lieber with tax offenses for allegedly failing to report income he
received from Wuhan University of Technology (WUT).
May 11, 2020
University of Arkansas Professor Arrested for Wire Fraud
Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 63, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was arrested on Friday,
May 8, 2020, on charges related to wire fraud. The complaint charges that
Ang had close ties with the Chinese government and Chinese companies and
failed to disclose those ties when required to do so in order to receive
grant money from NASA. In July 2020, he was additionally charged via
indictment with multiple counts of wire fraud and passport fraud.
May 11, 2020
Former Emory University Professor and Chinese “Thousand Talents”
Participant Convicted and Sentenced for Filing a False Tax Return
On May 8, 2020, Dr. Xiao-Jiang Li, 63, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty
to a criminal information charging him with filing a false tax return. Dr.
Li, a former Emory University professor and Chinese Thousand Talents Program
participant, worked overseas at Chinese universities and did not report any
of his foreign income on his federal tax returns.
April 9, 2020
Executive Branch Agencies Recommend the FCC Revoke and Terminate China
Telecom’s Authorizations to Provide International Telecommunications
Services in the United States
Executive Branch agencies unanimously recommended the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) revoke and terminate China Telecom (Americas) Corp.’s
authorizations to provide international telecommunications services to and
from the United States. China Telecom is the U.S. subsidiary of a People’s
Republic of China (PRC) state-owned telecommunications company.
March 17, 2020
Hayward Resident Sentenced to Four Years for Acting as an Agent of the
People’s Republic of China
Charged in September 2019, Xuehua (Edward) Peng, aka Edward Peng, was
sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine
for acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of
State Security (MSS) in connection with a scheme to conduct pickups known as
“dead drops” and transport Secure Digital (SD) cards from a source in the
United States to the MSS operatives in China.
March 10, 2020
Former West Virginia University Professor Pleads Guilty to Fraud That
Enabled Him to Participate in the People’s Republic of China’s “Thousand
Talents Plan”
Dr. James Patrick Lewis, of Fairview, West Virginia, admitted to a fraud
charge involving West Virginia University. Lewis, 54, pleaded guilty to a
one-count information charging him with “Federal Program Fraud.” In July
2017, Lewis entered a contract of employment with the People’s Republic of
China through its “Global Experts 1000 Talents Plan.” These talent
programs seek to lure overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their
knowledge and experience to China and reward individuals for stealing
proprietary information.
February 27, 2020
Chinese National Sentenced for Stealing Trade Secrets Worth $1 Billion
A former associate scientist was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison in
federal court for stealing proprietary information worth more than $1
billion from his employer, a U.S. petroleum company.
February 13, 2020
Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Subsidiaries Charged in
Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets
A superseding indictment was returned in Brooklyn, New York, charging Huawei
Technologies Co. Ltd., the world’s largest telecommunications equipment
manufacturer, and two U.S. subsidiaries with conspiracy to violate the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The original
indictment against Huawei for financial fraud was filed in January 2019.
February 11, 2020
American Businessman Who Ran Houston-Based Subsidiary of Chinese Company
Sentenced To Prison for Theft of Trade Secrets
The head of a Houston-based company that was the subsidiary of a Chinese
company that developed stolen trade secrets was sentenced to 16 months in
prison and ordered to forfeit more than $330,000 in the District of Columbia.
February 10, 2020
Chinese Military Personnel Charged with Computer Fraud, Economic Espionage
and Wire Fraud for Hacking into Credit Reporting Agency Equifax
A federal grand jury in Atlanta returned an indictment charging four members
of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with hacking into the
computer systems of the credit reporting agency Equifax and stealing
Americans’ personal data and Equifax’s valuable trade secrets.
January 28, 2020
Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three
Separate China Related Cases
The Department announced charges against three individuals in connection
with aiding the People’s Republic of China. For more information on these
individuals, see entries on Dr. Charles Lieber, Yanqing Ye and Zaosong Zheng.
January 28, 2020
Cancer Researcher from China Charged with Smuggling and False Statements
After Being Caught at the Airport with Twenty-one Vials of Stolen Biological
Research Material
Zaosong Zheng, 30, a Chinese national, was arrested at Boston’s Logan
International Airport, and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to
smuggle twenty-one vials of biological research to China. Zheng was later
indicted on one count of smuggling goods from the United States and one
count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements. He pleaded
guilty to making false statements in December 2020 and was sentenced to time
served in January 2021.
December 19, 2019
Department of Justice Reaches $5.5 Million Settlement with Van Andel
Research Institute to Resolve Allegations of Undisclosed Chinese Grants to
Two Researchers
The Department of Justice announced today that Van Andel Research Institute
(VARI) has agreed to pay $5,500,000.00 to resolve allegations that it
violated the False Claims Act by submitting federal grant applications and
progress reports to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in which VARI
failed to disclose Chinese government grants that funded two VARI
researchers. The settlement further resolves allegations that, in a December
2018 letter, VARI made certain factual representations to NIH with
deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard for the truth regarding the
Chinese grants.
November 22, 2019
Former CIA Officer Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Espionage
A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer was sentenced to 19
years in prison for conspiring to communicate, deliver and transmit national
defense information to the People’s Republic of China.
November 21, 2019
Chinese National Who Worked at Monsanto Indicted on Economic Espionage
Charges
Haitao Xiang, 42, formerly of Chesterfield, Missouri, was indicted by a
federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage,
three counts of economic espionage, one count of conspiracy to commit theft
of trade secrets, and three counts of theft of trade secrets. According to
the indictment, Xiang was selected to be a member of a Chinese government
Talent Plan, and, within a year, quit his job, and sought to take
proprietary farming software to China.
November 14, 2019
Two Former Executives of the China Subsidiary of a Multi-Level Marketing
Company Charged for Scheme to Pay Foreign Bribes and Circumvent Internal
Accounting Controls
The former head of the Chinese subsidiary of a publicly traded international
multi-level marketing company and the former head of the external affairs
department of the Chinese subsidiary of the same company were charged for
their roles in a scheme to violate the anti-bribery and the internal control
provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
October 18, 2019
Chinese National Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Conspiring to
Illegally Export Military- and Space-Grade Technology from the United States
to China
Tao Li, a 39-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to 40 months in prison
, followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to
conspiring to export military and space-grade technology to the People’s
Republic of China without a license, in violation of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which makes certain unauthorized
exports illegal.
September 24, 2019
Former Intelligence Officer Convicted of Attempted Espionage Sentenced to 10
Years in Federal Prison
Ron Rockwell Hansen, 60, of Utah, a former Defense Intelligence Agency
officer, who pleaded guilty to attempting to communicate, deliver, or
transmit information involving the national defense of the United States to
the People’s Republic of China, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
August 21, 2019
University of Kansas Researcher Indicted for Fraud for Failing to Disclose
Conflict of Interest with Chinese University
Feng “Franklin” Tao, an associate professor at Kansas University, was
indicted on federal charges for concealing the fact he was a full-time
employee for Fuzhou University, in China, while doing research at KU that
was funded by the U.S. government. Jury trial continued from December 2021,
with a new date to be determined.
July 11, 2019
Newly Unsealed Federal Indictment Charges Software Engineer with Taking
Stolen Trade Secrets to China
Xudong Yao, aka William Yao, a software engineer at a suburban Chicago
locomotive manufacturer, was charged with nine counts of theft of trade
secrets for allegedly stealing proprietary information from the company and
taking it to China.
July 9, 2019
Former State Department Employee Sentenced for Conspiring with Chinese
Agents
Candace Marie Clairborne, a former employee of the U.S. Department of State,
was sentenced to 40 months in prison, three years of supervised release,
and a fine of $40,000. Clairborne was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud
the United States by lying to law enforcement and background investigators,
and hiding her extensive contacts with, and gifts from, agents of the People
’s Republic of China, which were provided in exchange for internal
documents from the U.S. State Department.
July 2, 2019
Electrical Engineer Convicted of Conspiring to Illegally Export to China
Semiconductor Chips with Missile Guidance Applications
Yi-Chi Shih, an electrical engineer, was found guilty of multiple criminal
charges, including a scheme to illegally obtain integrated circuits with
military applications that were later exported to China without the required
export license. After a six-week trial, Shih was found guilty of conspiracy
to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a federal law
that makes certain unauthorized exports illegal. He was sentenced to over
five years in prison in July 2021.
May 17, 2019
Former CIA Officer Sentenced to Prison for Espionage
Former U.S. Intelligence officer Kevin Patrick Mallory was convicted under
the Espionage Act for conspiracy to transmit national defense information to
an agent of the People’s Republic of China. He was sentenced to 20 years
in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
May 9, 2019
Member of Sophisticated China-Based Hacking Group Indicted for Series of
Computer Intrusions, Including 2015 Data Breach of Health Insurer Anthem Inc
. Affecting Over 78 Million People
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging a Chinese national as
part of an extremely sophisticated hacking group operating in China and
targeting large businesses in the United States, including a computer
intrusion and data breach of Indianapolis-based health insurer Anthem Inc.
April 23, 2019
Former GE Engineer and Chinese Businessman Charged with Economic Espionage
and Theft of GE’s Trade Secrets
An indictment charged Xiaoqing Zheng and Zhaoxi Zhang with economic
espionage and conspiring to steal General Electric’s (GE) trade secrets
relating to its turbine technology, knowing and intending that the stolen
trade secrets would be used to benefit the People’s Republic of China. The
14-count indictment alleged Zheng, while employed at GE Power & Water,
exploited his access by stealing multiple electronic files and transferring
them to Zhang, his business partner in China. Jury trial is set to begin in
March 2022.
April 17, 2019
Former Manager for International Airline Pleads Guilty to Acting as an Agent
of the Chinese Government
Ying Lin, a former manager with an international air carrier headquartered
in the People’s Republic of China, pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of
the PRC, without prior notification to the Attorney General. Lin transported
packages from John F. Kennedy International Airport to the PRC at the
orders of the Chinese military officers, in violation of Transportation
Security Administration regulations. Lin was subsequently sentenced to
probation in December 2019.
January 28, 2019
Chinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate
Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction of Justice
A 10-count indictment, unsealed in the Western District of Washington,
charged Huawei Device Co., Ltd. and Huawei Device Co. USA with theft of
trade secrets conspiracy, attempted theft of trade secrets, seven counts of
wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment details
Huawei’s alleged efforts to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile USA and then
obstruct justice when T-Mobile threatened to sue Huawei in U.S. District
Court.
December 20, 2018
Two Chinese Hackers Associated with the Ministry of State Security Charged
with Global Computer Intrusion Campaigns Targeting Intellectual Property and
Confidential Business Information
The Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging Chinese
nationals Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong with conspiracy to commit computer
intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
As alleged, the defendants, through their involvement in a hacking group
associated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, from 2006 to in or
about 2018, conducted global campaigns of computer intrusions targeting,
among other data, intellectual property and confidential business and
technological information at managed service providers, which are companies
that remotely manage the information technology infrastructure of businesses
and governments around the world, including in the United States. |
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