Ex-Ford Engineer Pleads Guilty To Stealing Secrets
A former Ford Motor Co. engineer charged with stealing trade secrets before a move to China has pleaded guilty and faces more than five years in prison.
Xiang Dong Yu, also known as Mike Yu, admitted Wednesday that he copied thousands of Ford documents with design details on engine transmission systems and electrical power supply.
Yu was a Ford engineer for 10 years. The government says he quit the company by sending an e-mail from China in January 2007. Yu began working for a Ford competitor, Beijing Automotive, in November 2008. Authorities say his computer had Ford trade secrets on it when he was arrested in Chicago last year after a flight from China.
The government says the trade secrets were worth more than $50 million.
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