A federal grand jury in Boston has issued an indictment against Xiao Zhang, a 33-year-old citizen of the People's Republic of China, for the alleged theft of trade secrets from his employer, a renowned global investment management firm, while he was stationed in Massachusetts during 2021. This information comes directly from an announcement made by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations in the Boston Division.
Zhang, who is currently believed to be somewhere in Shanghai, China, and remains outside the grasp of U.S. law enforcement, reportedly used a virtual private network (VPN) to gain unauthorized access to his then-employer's network. According to the indictment published on the U.S. Attorney's Office website, he managed to bypass company's controls to copy and transmit sensitive code, projects, and research data via a file-sharing application based in the PRC. The allegations suggest that the intent behind this subterfuge was to use the ill-gotten information to kickstart his own investment enterprise in the PRC.
Under federal law, theft of trade secrets can lead to grave penalties, including a maximum of 10 years of incarceration, three years of supervised release, and fines amounting to as much as $250,000. It's a complex case handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Kistner of the National Security Unit. Yet, as the indictment outlines only allegations, Zhang retains the presumption of innocence until proven guilty—if and when he is apprehended and tried in a U.S. court.
