Chinese National Sentenced to Prison in $1 Billion Trade Secret Theft Case
February 27 2020 - 05:09PM
Dow Jones News
By Mengqi Sun
A Chinese national was sentenced to two years in prison for
allegedly stealing proprietary information worth about $1 billion
from his Oklahoma employer, the U.S. Justice Department said
Thursday.
Hongjin Tan, 36 years old, is a Chinese citizen and U.S. legal
permanent resident. He pleaded guilty in federal court in Oklahoma
in November to charges including theft, unauthorized transmission
and unauthorized possession of a trade secret.
Mr. Tan, who was arrested in December 2018, stole the
information from a petroleum company in Oklahoma, prosecutors
said.
A lawyer representing Mr. Tan didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The Justice Department didn't identify Mr. Tan's U.S. employer.
A LinkedIn profile for a Hongjin Tan listed experience as a staff
scientist at Phillips 66 in Bartlesville, Okla., starting in May
2017.
A representative for Phillips 66 declined to comment, citing
company practice to not comment on legal matters.
Write to Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 27, 2020 16:54 ET (21:54 GMT)
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