Sunday, May 15, 2022

Ex-Coca-Cola Chemist Sentenced for Stealing $120 Million Trade Secret

A Chinese chemical engineer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing trade secrets on drink can coatings to establish a Chinese company backed by the Chinese government.

Xiaorong “Shannon” You, 59, was sentenced on Monday by a federal judge in Greeneville, Tennessee, on the charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud. In addition, she is ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release.

“Stealing technology isn’t just a crime against a company,” Acting Assistant Director Bradley S. Benavides of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in a release. “It’s a crime against American workers whose jobs and livelihoods are impacted.” more