Ex-GM engineer, husband found guilty of trade-secret theft

[nruggiero]

Ex-GM engineer, husband found guilty of trade-secret theft
Automotive News
November 30, 2012
by Eddie Allen

A former General Motors engineer and her husband were found guilty on Friday of conspiring to steal the automaker's trade secrets for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Shanshan Du, 53, the former GM employee, was ruled guilty of conspiracy to possess trade secrets without authorization and two counts of unauthorized possession of trade secrets. She was found not guilty of three counts of wire fraud.

Du's husband, Yu Qin, 51, was found guilty on all six counts, as well as a seventh count for obstruction of justice.

The trade secret counts carry a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The wire fraud counts and an obstruction charge each carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing will occur in February 2013.

The jury of nine women and three men deliberated for less than a full day after the case was sent to them late on Thursday. The trial in U.S. District Court in Detroit began on Nov. 5.

Du and Qin were charged in 2010 in a seven-count indictment with trying to steal GM trade secrets related to hybrid vehicles to pass on to China's Chery Automobile Co.

Attorneys for both Du and Qin argued the documents in question were not trade secrets.

Full article at link.

[mchicha]

This is a case of state sponsored espionage. The Charge should be treason.

[GHull3]

Is it seriously any surprise that the Chinese were involved in this?

[FenwickHockey65]

Treason.

[donmateo]

The Chinese have been infiltrating all sorts of American business and government information for awhile now. Punishment is not strict enough here IMO .

[Neanderthal]

Possibly not US citizens. In which case the charge would be espionage, industrial type.

Who's surprised?

Other than the fact that the sentences are probably more than they'd get if they'd just innocently murdered some mope.

[Dr. Show-Me]

The Chinese haven so far proved themselves dishonest in trade, intellectual property, currency and stealing others' work products. I say let's impose a 500% duty on all imports from China and individual inspection of each cargo container until China agrees to follow the rules.
Maybe it's time for a trade war that puts the 8 million American jobs that have been moved to China on the line, and bring back those jobs. We can buy cheap crap anywhere in the world, not just China. Just NOT China.

[BlackGTP]

We caught this pair, how many other Chinese are actively stealing from GM, Ford, etc as we discuss the topic in this tread?

[roy219]

Possibly not US citizens. In which case the charge would be espionage, industrial type.

Both Du and Qin are U.S. citizens and hold U.S. passports.

From Associated Press: "Du and Qin, both U.S. citizens, had been under scrutiny for years after GM accused them of theft. They were charged in 2006 with destroying documents sought by investigators, but that case was dropped while investigators pursued a broader probe that led to an indictment in 2010"

[roy219]

I say let's impose a 500% duty on all imports from China and individual inspection of each cargo container until China agrees to follow the rules.
Maybe it's time for a trade war that puts the 8 million American jobs that have been moved to China on the line, and bring back those jobs. We can buy cheap crap anywhere in the world, not just China. Just NOT China.

Those actions will result in prolonged strife between the two countries, weaken the U.S. economy, and ultimately hurt American citizens. A victory in any trade war is always pyrrhic.

In light of this case involving General Motors, a better approach would be a three pronged revision to immigration policy: a.) An indefinite moratorium on all immigration from the People's Republic of China to the USA; b.) assessment of penalties followed by deportation of any Chinese nationals in the U.S. illegally, possibly including a charge of trespassing for being on U.S. soil in the first place; c.) incentives for green card holders and naturalized citizens originally from the PRC to leave the U.S. and return to their homeland.

[PositiveAboutGM]

The statements "conspiring to steal" and "trying to steal GM trade secrets" make me curious whether they were successful in passing information and how much damage was done?

And, to be clear, I hope their and all attempts are absolute failures.

[sfbreh]

Those actions will result in prolonged strife between the two countries, weaken the U.S. economy, and ultimately hurt American citizens. A victory in any trade war is always pyrrhic.

In light of this case involving General Motors, a better approach would be a three pronged revision to immigration policy: a.) An indefinite moratorium on all immigration from the People's Republic of China to the USA; b.) assessment of penalties followed by deportation of any Chinese nationals in the U.S. illegally, possibly including a charge of trespassing for being on U.S. soil in the first place; c.) incentives for green card holders and naturalized citizens originally from the PRC to leave the U.S. and return to their homeland.

What is this, Nazi Germany? Chill out. I'm no fan of China myself but it's a little bit extreme.

I'll accept treason as a punishment.

I'll accept tightening Chinese immigration and, if possible, emigration to China (though I don't believe that's possible). Forcible deportation and punishment of illegal Chinese, okay. Forcible deportation of legal Chinese citizens who have committed or are suspected of committing crimes, okay.

I don't think I'd be okay with increased, targeted surveillance of Chinese in sensitive positions, but it's possibly an option.

We caught this pair, how many other Chinese are actively stealing from GM, Ford, etc as we discuss the topic in this tread?

That's a question we should ask, but I wouldn't just restrict it to the Chinese. A measured approach is the way to act. Xenophobic overreactions aren't the answer to our problems.

[Burnout Czar]

Treason.

Hang em high......

[Xenon]

The amount of bigotry in this thread is high...

[YupYupYup]

Maybe Americans and Canadians will finally wake up to the fact that China is fighting an espionage war aimed at stealing technology and know-how (things they can never accomplish alone), and has been for a very long time, and will continue to do so to undermine and weaken the West...China, for all its bravado and saber rattling, cannot win a military war against the U.S./ world and have pretty much not accomplished much in the last 1,000 years, especially for a country that is 5,000 years old.

Chinese are born (and brainwashed) to protect their motherland from birth, no matter how much hardship their own government puts on them. No amount of feel-good "culturally-sensitive understanding" will override the fact that the Chinese, by and large, only care about the Chinese, and through pressure from their government, will ALWAYS steal secrets and whatnot from other countries who have better technology for the motherland...An American citizenship for the most part is just a gateway and cover for working for their motherland.

Reality people, not ivory tower rhetoric.