WASHINGTON --Two Chinese professors are among six Chinese nationals
accused by federal prosecutors of economic espionage sponsored by
their home government in the alleged theft of sensitive radio
frequency filter technology developed by two U.S. companies.
The professors, who attended the University of Southern California,
allegedly obtained the trade secret information-- designed in part
to limit interference in mobile phone reception and other devices--
as part of a "long-running effort'' to benefit universities and
companies controlled by the Chinese government.
Tianjin University professor Hao Zhang, 36, was arrested Saturday
in Los Angeles shortly after stepping off a plane from China.
Fellow professor Wei Pang, 35, and four other alleged
co-conspirators are believed to be in China.
According to the 32-count indictment, Pang and Zhang met during
their doctoral studies in electrical engineering at USC. While at
the university, the two conducted research related to the acoustic
technology that was funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, known as DARPA.
Shortly after earning their doctorates in 2005, Pang was employed
as an engineer by Colorado-based Avago Technologies, while Zhang
went to work for Skyworks Solutions Inc., in Massachusetts, the two
companies that developed the proprietary trade information.
Specifically, the so-called FBAR technology is primarily used in
mobile devices, filtering incoming and outgoing wireless signals so
that a user only receives and transmits communications intended by
the user. In addition to the consumer uses, FBAR technology has
numerous applications for military and defense communications.
According to the indictment, the professors and other
co-conspirators prepared a business plan in 2006 and 2007 and began
soliciting Chinese universities and other interests, in an effort
to begin manufacturing the technology in China.
In 2008, according to the indictment, Tianjin University officials
traveled to San Jose, Calif., to meet with Pang, Zhang and other
co-conspirators, ultimately agreeing to support the professors in
setting up a fabrication plant in China. The professors, menawhile,
continued to work with their respective U.S. companies while
coordinating their activities with the Chinese university.
The following year, according to federal prosecutors, Pang and
Zhang resigned from their U.S. companies and accepted
professorships with Tianjin University where a joint venture, ROFS
Microsystem, was formed to mass produce the filter technology.
"The defendants leveraged their access to and knowledge of
sensitive U.S. technologies to illegally obtain and share U.S.
trade secrets with the PRC for economic advantage," said Assistant
Attorney General John Carlin, who oversees the Justice Department's
National Security Division. "Economic espionage imposes great costs
on American businesses, weakens the global marketplace and
ultimately harms U.S. interests worldwide.''
David Johnson, the FBI's top agent in San Francisco, said the
suspects' alleged conduct represented "a methodical and relentless
effor by foreign interests to obtain and exploit sensitive and
valuable U.S. technology.''
"Complex foreign-government sponsored schemes, such as the activity
identified here, inflict irreversible damage to the economy of the
United States and undercut our national security,'' Johnson
said.