Chinese National Sentenced to Up to 10 Years for Stealing Electric Vehicle Trade Secrets

Klaus Pflugbeil, a 41-year-old resident of the People’s Republic of China, Canadian national, and German national, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to send trade secrets that belonged to a leading U.S.-based electric vehicle company, Victim Company-1.

The guilty plea was made in federal court in Central Islip. Pflugbeil, a former employee of a company later purchased by Victim Company-1, stole trade secrets from his then employer and used the secrets to build a business in China, marketing it as a replacement for Victim Company-1’s products.

According to court documents, Pflugbeil and his co-defendant, Yilong Shao, planned to use Victim Company-1’s trade secrets for their own business activities in 2019. Pflugbeil told Shao that he had “a lot of original documents” related to the technology and sought out more “original drawings” of the trade secrets.

When sentenced, Pflugbeil faces up to 10 years in prison. United States Attorney Breon Peace announced the guilty plea, stating, “Today, the defendant is guilty of boldly sending valuable trade secrets, detailed documents and drawings that he stole from a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of battery-powered electric vehicles to an undercover law enforcement agent expertly posing as a businessman on Long Island.”

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen added, “Despite Pflugbeil’s agreement to protect what he knew was proprietary, sensitive technology, he chose to abscond with these trade secrets to China, where he sought an unfair and illegal advantage in critical industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing.”

The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Victim Company-1 is a leading manufacturer of battery-powered electric vehicles and battery energy systems.

The theft of trade secrets has significant consequences for businesses and national security. As Assistant Director-in-Charge James Smith stated, “This guilty plea demonstrates how this Office will swiftly bring to justice those who misappropriate intellectual property belonging to American companies, to safeguard our economy and national security.”

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