![]() ![]() Attorneys Matthew Drake and Gwendolyn Carroll for the Eastern District of Missouri, Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt and Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Senior Counsel Jeff Pearlman and Assistant Deputy Chief Matthew Walczewski of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the case.Newspapers around the world regularly cover the leveling of the global playing field, often called “the global marketplace,” and highlight the entrance of vibrant, new cultures and economies into the entrepreneurial mix. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection investigated the case.Īssistant U.S. Xiang was arrested when he returned to the United States in November 2019. Xiang continued on to China where he worked for the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Soil Science. Investigators later determined that one of Xiang’s electronic devices contained copies of the Nutrient Optimizer. While he was waiting to board his flight, federal officials conducted a search of Xiang’s person and baggage. 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. Monsanto and The Climate Corporation considered the Nutrient Optimizer a valuable trade secret and their intellectual property. A critical component to the platform was a proprietary predictive algorithm referred to as the Nutrient Optimizer. 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. economy.”Īccording 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. I commend their success in protecting the victim company and ultimately our U.S. Economic espionage convictions are rare because the elements required to prove state-sponsored theft is extremely difficult,” “Today’s sentencing is a culmination of more than five years of tenacity and dedication by our agents and federal prosecutors. There are less than two dozen such convictions nationwide. “This is the first economic espionage conviction ever in the history of the Eastern District of Missouri,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Akil Davis of FBI’s St. ![]() That’s why at the FBI protecting our nation’s innovation is both a law enforcement and a top national security priority.” Our economic security is essential to our national security. Stealing our highly prized technology can lead to the loss of good-paying jobs here in the United States, affecting families, and sometimes entire communities. "The government of China does not hesitate to go after the ingenuity that drives our economy. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. businesses and transfer it to China cause tremendous economic damage to our country," said Assistant Director Alan E. “Those who conspire to steal technology from U.S. Individuals entrusted with valuable trade secrets should be on notice that if they abuse that trust – especially for the benefit of foreign nations – we will hold them accountable.” “This type of theft threatens employers large and small in every state, and it imperils our economic competitiveness as a nation. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendant took advantage of living and working in the United States to steal a valuable trade secret for the benefit of PRC entities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. companies’ competitive advantage, and the National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who steals trade secrets to benefit a foreign government.” Economic espionage is a serious offense that can threaten U.S. “The victim companies invested significant time and resources to develop this intellectual property. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Xiang conspired to steal an important trade secret to gain an unfair advantage for himself and the PRC,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Louis, Missouri, for the purpose of benefitting a foreign government, namely the People’s Republic of China (PRC). According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto, an internationally based company doing business in St. Xiang Haitao, 44, pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2022. A Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, was today sentenced to 29 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $150,000 fine for conspiring to commit economic espionage. ![]()
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