US Federal court in Cincinnati sentenced the first Chinese intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States to 20 years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from aviation companies, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, APA reports citing Sputnik.
"This case sends a clear message: we will hold accountable anyone attempting to steal American trade secrets," US Attorney Kenneth Parker said in a statement. "(Yanjun) Xu conspired to steal American science and technology. Thanks to the diligent work of the FBI, GE Aviation, and our trial team, he'll spend decades in federal prison.
Xu, a career intelligence officer of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), targeted US aviation companies, recruited employees to travel to China and solicited their proprietary information, the statement said.
Xu lured aviation employees to China, often under the guise of giving a presentation at a university, and hacked computers in hotel rooms while the employees were taken to dinner by the MSS.
In November, a federal jury convicted Xu on counts of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, attempted economic espionage and attempted trade secret theft.
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