{"id":48765,"date":"2022-01-06T18:54:50","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T02:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48765"},"modified":"2022-01-06T18:55:47","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T02:55:47","slug":"chinese-man-guilty-of-espionage-stealing-a-trade-secret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48765","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Man Guilty of Espionage, Stealing a Chemical Co. Trade Secret"},"content":{"rendered":"

MISSOURI<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Xiang Haitao, 44, a Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit economic espionage, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from Monsanto, an international company based in St. Louis, for the purpose of benefitting a foreign government, namely the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDespite Xiang\u2019s agreements to protect Monsanto\u2019s intellectual property and repeated training on his obligations to do so, Xiang has now admitted that he stole a trade secret from Monsanto, transferred it to a memory card, and attempted to take it to the People\u2019s Republic of China for the benefit of Chinese government,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department\u2019s National Security Division.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cMr. Xiang used his insider status at a major international company to steal valuable trade secrets for use in his native China,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. \u201cThese crimes present a danger to the U.S. economy and jeopardize our nation\u2019s leadership in innovation and our national security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe American worker suffers when adversaries, like the Government of China, steal technology to grow their economies,\u201d said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI\u2019s Counterintelligence Division. \u201cIt\u2019s not just military technology developed in secret labs that adversaries want; in this case, it was agricultural technology used by American farmers to improve crop yields.”<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, Xiang was employed by Monsanto and its subsidiary, The Climate Corporation, from 2008 to 2017, where he worked as an imaging scientist. <\/span><\/p>\n

Monsanto and The Climate Corporation developed a digital, online farming software platform that was used by farmers to collect, store and visualize critical agricultural field data and increase and improve agricultural productivity for farmers. <\/span><\/p>\n

A critical component to the platform was a proprietary predictive algorithm referred to as the Nutrient Optimizer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Monsanto and The Climate Corporation considered the Nutrient Optimizer a valuable trade secret and their intellectual property.<\/span><\/p>\n

In June 2017, the day after leaving employment with Monsanto and The Climate Corporation, Xiang attempted to travel to China on a one-way airplane ticket. <\/span><\/p>\n

While he was waiting to board his flight, Federal officials conducted a search of Xiang\u2019s person and baggage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Investigators later determined that one of Xiang\u2019s electronic devices contained copies of the Nutrient Optimizer. Xiang continued on to China where he worked for the Chinese Academy of Science\u2019s Institute of Soil Science. Xiang was arrested when he returned to the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Xiang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7. <\/span><\/p>\n

He faces up to 15 years in prison, a potential fine of $5 million and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. <\/span><\/p>\n

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MISSOURI Xiang Haitao, 44, a Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit economic espionage, officials stated. According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nChinese Man Guilty of Espionage, Stealing a Chemical Co. 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