Ex-Ford engineer took 4,000 tech documents, according to indictment
Despite the fact that the auto industry is going through some extremely tough times apparently doesn’t make foreign countries covet its technology any less. Case in point: A federal indictment was handed down this week charging ex-Ford engineer Xiang Dong Yu, aka Mike Yu of Beijing, China, with steeling 4,000 Ford documents containing a ton of trade secrets. He has been officially charged with theft of trade secrets, attempted theft of trade secrets and unauthorized access to a protected computer.
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According to the indictment, Yu was a Product Engineer for Ford from 1997 to 2007 and had access to Ford trade secrets, including Ford design documents. The indictment alleges that on the eve of his departure from Ford and before he told Ford of his new job, Yu copied some 4,000 Ford documents onto an external hard drive, including sensitive Ford design documents.
Included in those documents were system design specifications for the engine/transmission mounting subsystem, electrical distribution system, electric power supply, electrical subsystem and generic body module, among others, the FBI stated.
Ford has spent millions of dollars and decades on research, development and testing to develop and continuously improve the design specifications set forth in these documents. The indictment also alleges that Yu took Ford design documents to China in July 2005 in conjunction with his efforts to obtain employment with a Chinese automotive company. Then, the indictment alleges that Yu used stolen Ford documents in an effort to secure employment with Beijing Automotive Corp., in 2008.
Yu is in federal custody in Chicago where he is scheduled to have a detention hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009
Each of the theft and attempted theft of trade secrets counts carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The count charging unauthorized access to a protected computer carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Chinese industrial espionage is on the rise. For example, last month for the second time in less than three years, a research scientist at DuPont has been accused of misappropriating trade secrets from the company and attempting to use them to build competing products in China.
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