A Boston federal court has seen the arrest of Dong Liu, a dual citizen of Canada and China, for attempting to steal trade secrets and computer information from a Raynham-based medical technology company.
Dong Liu, a/k/a Kevin, 44, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of attempted theft of trade secrets and one count of attempted access to a computer without authorization and in excess of authorized access with the intent to obtain information from a protected computer.
Liu was detained following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on August 28, 2017.
According to the charging documents, Medrobotics Corporation, which is headquartered in Raynham, Massachusetts, manufactures and markets a unique robot-assisted device that provides surgeons with access to, and visualization of, hard-to-reach places in the human body for minimally invasive surgery.
The company has invested millions of dollars in next-generation robotics technology that is not yet patented.
Liu allegedly claimed to be working with a Chinese patent law firm and showed the CEO his LinkedIn biography, in which Liu claimed to lead his firm’s intellectual property practice in medical devices, among other things.
When police responded to the CEO’s call and talked with Liu, Liu gave conflicting explanations about how he had entered the building. A check of Medrobotics’ visitor log book revealed that neither Liu nor any other visitor had signed into the building that day, despite a company policy that requires visitors to log in.
The charge of attempted theft of trade secrets provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the financial gain or loss, restitution, and forfeiture.
The charge of attempted access to a computer to obtain information unlawfully provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the financial gain or loss, restitution, and forfeiture.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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