A former Corning Inc. scientist who was charged in 2021 with stealing information from a secret government project he was working on for the company — including trying to arrange a business deal with China — has been convicted in federal court on multiple felony charges.
Following a trial in U.S. District Court in Rochester, the jury found Ji Wang, 63, of Painted Post, guilty on two counts of economic espionage, one count of theft of trade secrets, one count of attempted economic espionage, and one count of attempted theft of trade secrets.
Wang was born in China and immigrated to the United States in 1998 to work for Corning Inc. He left the company in 2019.
Between 2002 and 2007, Wang was assigned to work on a joint research and development project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Corning, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York, which prosecuted the case.
The goal of the 5-year, $11.4 million project was to develop optical fibers for high-powered lasers with military and commercial applications. DARPA and Corning aimed to increase the power of fiber lasers by more than a factor of 1000. DARPA sought to develop this technology to create laser weapons capable of shooting down drones and missiles.
On or about July 1, 2016, Wang stole hundreds of files that contained non-public data generated during the DARPA project, prosecutors said, including trade-secret manufacturing technology that would have enabled him to fabricate all manner of specialty optical fibers, including for fiber lasers.
Wang was negotiating with Chinese government entities to start a specialty fiber business in China from at least 2014 through 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Wang’s business plans showed that he was planning to use the stolen trade-secret files to start this business in China.
The plans also touted the military applications of the technology, claiming such use of the technology on military vehicles could “be key to deciding victory or defeat.” The FBI and other law enforcement were able to disrupt Wang’s efforts before he could start a new business and exploit the technology he stole.
Special agents from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security assisted the FBI in its investigation.
“This conviction demonstrates the importance of protecting trade secrets developed in the United States, especially those with military applications,” said U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo. “My office will continue to pursue and prosecute those that steal such information.”
Court documents indicate Corning Inc. took reasonable measures to protect the laser fiber manufacturing technology from unauthorized disclosure and use, including requiring Wang and other employees to execute nondisclosure agreements.
U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. scheduled sentencing for April 15, 2026. Wang faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on each of the economic espionage charges, and up to 10 years for theft of trade secrets.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Former Corning Inc. scientist convicted of stealing DARPA trade secrets for China
Reporting by Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
