14 years for Michigan chemist guilty of trade secret theft

A Tennessee judge has sentenced a Michigan woman today to 14 years in prison for ‘a scheme to steal trade secrets, engage in economic espionage and commit fraud,’ says the US Department of Justice (‘DoJ’). The defendant was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $200,000 fine.

The DoJ said, ‘In April 2021, following a 13-day jury trial, Xiaorong You, aka Shannon You, 59, of Lansing, Michigan, was convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud.’

Assistant Attorney Matthew Olsen of the DoJ’s National Security Division said, ‘As the evidence at trial showed, the defendant stole valuable trade secrets and intended to use them to benefit not only a foreign company, but also the government of China.’

The DoJ said that You stole ‘valuable trade secrets related to formulations for bisphenol-A-free (BPA-free) coatings for the inside of beverage cans. You was granted access to the trade secrets while working at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, and Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee. The stolen trade secrets belonged to major chemical and coating companies including Akzo-Nobel, BASF, Dow Chemical, PPG, Toyochem, Sherwin Williams and Eastman Chemical Company, and cost nearly $120 million to develop.’

You, it said, stole the trade secrets ‘to set up a new BPA-free coating company in China. You and her Chinese corporate partner, Weihai Jinhong Group, received millions of dollars in Chinese government grants to support the new company (including a Thousand Talents Plan award). You’s Thousand Talents Program application and other evidence presented at trial showed that she intended to benefit not only Weihai Jinhong Group, but also the governments of China, the Chinese province of Shandong, the Chinese city of Weihai and the Chinese Communist Party.’