"Today, Xu Jiaqiang, 31, formerly of Beijing, China, pleaded guilty to economic espionage and theft of a trade secret, in connection with Xu’s theft of proprietary source code from Xu’s former employer, with the intent to benefit the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China. Xu pleaded guilty to all six counts with which he was charged," the release said Friday.
According to the indictment, Xu told an undercover law enforcement officer that he had provided multiple customers with the proprietary software using a stolen copy of the proprietary source code.
He also "stole, duplicated, and possessed the Proprietary Source Code with the intent to benefit the National Health and Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China," the Justice Department claimed.
Xu pleaded guilty to three counts of economic espionage and three counts of theft of a trade secret.
The economic espionage charges each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and the theft of a trade secret charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Xu’s sentencing will take place October 13.
