Couple sentenced for scheme to steal from US children’s hospital to profit in China
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/...ofit-china
INTRO: A Chinese-born husband and wife who became U.S. citizens have been sentenced in a conspiracy to steal sensitive medical research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio while being financially supported by the Chinese government, with the couple pursuing the goal of selling the stolen secrets for a profit in China.
Yu Zhou, 51, and Li Chen, 47, of Dublin, Ohio, pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and conspiring to steal at least five exosome-related trade secrets tied to the identification and treatment of a number of pediatric medical conditions while working at the elite Columbus hospital’s research institute, even as they were receiving benefits from the Chinese government, including China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The Justice Department said that “the pair were also part of application processes tied to multiple Chinese government programs, including talent plans” that prosecutors described as “a method used by China to transfer foreign research and technology to the Chinese government.” The indictment details their efforts to join a Beijing Overseas Talent Plan.
Chen was sentenced to 30 months behind bars in February, while Zhou’s 33-month sentence was handed down Monday. They were originally arrested in California in July 2019... (MORE - details)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/...ofit-china
INTRO: A Chinese-born husband and wife who became U.S. citizens have been sentenced in a conspiracy to steal sensitive medical research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio while being financially supported by the Chinese government, with the couple pursuing the goal of selling the stolen secrets for a profit in China.
Yu Zhou, 51, and Li Chen, 47, of Dublin, Ohio, pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and conspiring to steal at least five exosome-related trade secrets tied to the identification and treatment of a number of pediatric medical conditions while working at the elite Columbus hospital’s research institute, even as they were receiving benefits from the Chinese government, including China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The Justice Department said that “the pair were also part of application processes tied to multiple Chinese government programs, including talent plans” that prosecutors described as “a method used by China to transfer foreign research and technology to the Chinese government.” The indictment details their efforts to join a Beijing Overseas Talent Plan.
Chen was sentenced to 30 months behind bars in February, while Zhou’s 33-month sentence was handed down Monday. They were originally arrested in California in July 2019... (MORE - details)