A Chinese scientist who was accused of stealing more than $1 billion in trade secrets from his former employer has pleaded guilty to his charges.
Hongjin Tan, 35, a U.S. legal permanent resident, was an associate scientist for an Oklahoma-based energy company from June 2017 to December 2018. He was assigned to work with a team to develop next-generation battery technologies for lithium-based battery systems.
Lithium batteries are widely used in electronic gadgets, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
Tan admitted to intentionally copying and downloading research materials, without receiving authorization from his employer, according to his plea agreement.
According to the press release, Tan downloaded hundreds of files to a thumb drive on Dec. 11, 2018, and then submitted his resignation on the same day. The very next day, he returned to the company, claiming that he had forgotten to hand over the thumb drive, before leaving the company.
It was discovered that five files had been deleted from the thumb drive and a subsequent FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) probe showed that Tan had downloaded these same five files to his personal computer hard drive.
“Tan’s guilty plea continues to fill in the picture of China’s theft of American intellectual property,” said John C. Demers, assistant U.S. Attorney General for the National Security Division, in the press release.
Tan was arrested on Dec. 20 last year. The trade secrets Tan stolen were estimated to be worth roughly $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI.
Prior to his employment at Phillips 66, he spent over 15 years at the California Institute of Technology (also known as Caltech), earning his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in material science. He then became a visiting scientist at the school. He received his bachelor’s degree in condensed matter physics and biophysics at China’s Nanjing University.
“China’s economic aggression poses a threat to America’s emerging high-technology industries. Industrial spies like Hongjin Tan engage in espionage to steal American trade secrets and intellectual property born out of the innovation that is innate in our free market system,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores for the Northern District of Oklahoma, in the press release.
Tam will be sentenced on Feb. 12, 2020. The Department of Justice did not specify the maximum penalty that Tam faces.
Federal prosecutors have indicted multiple Chinese researchers and scientists who allegedly stole or tried to steal trade secrets from their U.S. employers.