Scientist Convicted of Stealing Trade Secrets From Federally Funded Research, Passing to China
Udumbara
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A former fiber laser scientist at Corning Incorporated has been convicted by a federal jury for stealing technology from a U.S. government-funded project and attempting to transfer it to China.
Originally from China, Wang immigrated to the United States and joined Corning in 1998. In 2002, Wang began working as a lead scientist at an $11.4 million research project funded by Corning and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)—an agency within the Pentagon dedicated to advancing innovative technology for national security.
Wang downloaded non-public data produced by the DARPA project, including materials related to the manufacturing technology for fiber lasers, to his personal USB drive in 2016 without authorization, according to the court document.
Wang sought to establish a fiber laser business in China with the obtained files and began contacting several Chinese state and local authorities in 2014, according to the indictment.
Wang aimed to secure approximately $29 million in seed funding for his venture, which he named QuantumWave, and made several trips to China for negotiations, according to prosecutors. On at least two occasions in 2017, he was alleged to have brought a laptop containing DARPA project materials that were subject to U.S. export controls.
The Justice Department said Wang outlined the potential military applications of the stolen innovation in his business proposals. In one such proposal submitted to a Chinese government entity, he said that the fiber technology could be applied to military vehicles, such as tanks, claiming such applications could “be key to deciding victory or defeat.”
As negotiations with the Chinese side did not result in an agreement, Wang shifted his focus to U.S. investors in 2018, seeking to establish his proposed businesses in the United States using the same technology from the DARPA project, according to the court document.
Wang faces up to 15 years in prison for economic espionage and 10 years for theft of trade secrets, according to the Justice Department.
“Mr. Wang stole sensitive technology that Corning, Inc. and DARPA spent millions of dollars developing so he could line his own pockets and help our adversaries undermine U.S. national security,” Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director at the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, said in a statement.
“For years, China’s government has waged a vast economic espionage campaign designed to put our nation at risk and American companies out of business,” he continued. “This conviction makes clear that the FBI and our partners will continue to hold accountable anyone looking to steal U.S. innovation for our enemies.”
Wang’s lawyers told The Epoch Times they plan to appeal the convictions, saying that a federal jury acquitted Wang on two counts presented at trial, specifically, one count of theft of trade secrets and one count of attempted theft of trade secrets. They contend that this decision raises highlighted “significant questions existed regarding key aspects of the government’s case.”
“Dr. Wang is an American and has dedicated his life to scientific innovation,” Avik Ganguly, an attorney for Wang, said in a statement via email.
“We remain confident that the appellate process will ultimately affirm his integrity and the principle that scientific collaboration, thought and curiosity are not crimes,” he said.
