Chinese Citizen Pleads Guilty to Stealing High-Tech Seeds From U.S. Fields
January 27 2016 - 8:24PM
Dow Jones News
By Jacob Bunge
A Chinese citizen pleaded guilty to stealing high-tech corn
seeds from U.S. farm fields, in a case that drew attention for the
government's rare use of a U.S. antispying law to prosecute alleged
trade-secrets theft.
Mo Hailong, 46, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of Iowa to participating in a long-running
plot to steal genetically pure corn seeds developed by U.S.
agribusiness giants Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co. At the time of his
arrest in December 2013, Mr. Mo, who has lived in the U.S. since
1998, was a director of international business for Beijing
Dabeinong Technology Group Co., a Beijing-based agriculture company
that runs a seed division.
The government alleged Mr. Mo was the U.S.-based ringleader of a
group of several Chinese accomplices who cruised corn fields in
Iowa and Illinois in search of seed company test fields, where they
removed seeds and corn. The group later attempted to ship and
smuggle seeds and corn kernels back to China, sometimes hidden
inside boxes of Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn, according to
U.S. authorities.
Mark Weinhardt, a lawyer representing Mr. Mo, who also goes by
Robert Mo, said his client recently completed an "extensive and
difficult" cancer treatment and by pleading guilty will "avoid the
strain of a long and complex trial."
"This is a complicated case with many grey areas, legally and
factually, but today Robert Mo takes complete responsibility for
his unlawful conduct in this case," Mr. Weinhardt said in a
statement. "Robert looks forward to getting this matter behind him
and moving forward in life with his wife and children."
Representatives for Dabeinong couldn't immediately be reached
for comment.
In pursuing the case against Mr. Mo and his alleged accomplices,
U.S. government prosecutors said they planned to rely on evidence
gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, a
law designed to catch foreign government spies and terrorists.
Mr. Mo's case was the first known instance that the U.S.
government said it would rely on the law to prosecute trade-secret
theft charges. It came at a time when U.S. law-enforcement
officials were examining potential corporate espionage targeting
other U.S. agriculture companies.
Mr. Mo will be sentenced at a later date in Des Moines, Iowa,
according to a statement Wednesday from the Justice Department.
U.S. government prosecutors agreed as part of the plea deal not to
seek a prison sentence longer than five years.
Since his arrest, Mr. Mo has been under house arrest in Des
Moines, Iowa. As part of the plea deal, Mr. Mo will immediately
forfeit parcels of farmland he owned in Illinois and Iowa, which
the U.S. alleged were part of the corn-stealing scheme.
A Monsanto spokeswoman said the company "appreciates all of the
efforts that have been taken by the U.S. Government to protect our
intellectual property." A DuPont spokesman thanked U.S. officials
and said the company "will continue to take aggressive steps to
protect our intellectual property."
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 27, 2016 20:09 ET (01:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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