Chi Lung Winsman Ng, Stealing Trade Secrets, New York 2018

WASHINGTON – Chinese businessman Chi Lung Winsman Ng, 64, a Hong Kong resident, was indicted yesterday for conspiring to steal General Electric’s (GE) trade secrets involving the company’s silicon carbide MOSFET technology worth millions of dollars.

The indictment alleges that between about March 2017 and January 2018, Ng and at least one co-conspirator plotted to develop a business that would manufacture and sell silicon carbide MOSFETs using trade secrets stolen from GE.

MOSFETs, or silicon carbide metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, are small electronic semiconductors/switches that regulate the flow of electricity through devices and are used in a variety of products.

Ng conspired with at least one other person, a GE engineer of more than seven years, to steal MOSFET trade secrets and other proprietary information from GE.

Ng and co-conspirator #1 allegedly used those trade secrets to create a business plan and develop PowerPoint presentations which they gave to prospective investors. Ng and co-conspirator #1 told potential investors that their business could be profitable within three years and that their start-up business possessed assets – tangible and intangible – they estimated to be worth $100 million.

As part of the scheme, they sought approximately $30 million in funding in exchange for an ownership stake in their start-up company.

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the Justice Department’s National Security Division stated, ‘Theft of American intellectual property for the benefit of foreign firms deprives American companies of the fruits of their creativity and American workers of their jobs.’

‘The Department will do all it can to disrupt this illegal and economically destructive conduct.’

The charge in the indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defendant: Chi Lung Winsman Ng

Criminal Charges: Conspiring to Steal Trade Secrets

City and State: WASHINGTON

Date: March 2017 – January 2018

Sentence or Outcome: Case ongoing

Dollar Amounts: Silicon carbide MOSFET technology worth millions of dollars, $100 million estimated worth of start-up business, $30 million sought in funding

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