Xiang Haitao, Economic Espionage Conspiracy, Missouri 2022

A Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, was today sentenced to 29 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $150,000 fine for conspiring to commit economic espionage.

Xiang Haitao, 44, pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2022. According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto, an internationally based company doing business in St. Louis, Missouri, for the purpose of benefitting a foreign government, namely the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“Xiang conspired to steal an important trade secret to gain an unfair advantage for himself and the PRC,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The victim companies invested significant time and resources to develop this intellectual property. Economic espionage is a serious offense that can threaten U.S. companies’ competitive advantage, and the National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who steals trade secrets to benefit a foreign government.”

The defendant, Xiang Haitao, worked as an imaging scientist for Monsanto and its subsidiary, The Climate Corporation, from 2008 to 2017. During this time, he developed a close relationship with the company and had access to sensitive information.

On June 29, 2017, the day after leaving employment with Monsanto and The Climate Corporation, Xiang attempted to travel to China on a one-way airplane ticket. While he was waiting to board his flight, federal officials conducted a search of Xiang’s person and baggage. Investigators later determined that one of Xiang’s electronic devices contained copies of the Nutrient Optimizer, a proprietary predictive algorithm considered a valuable trade secret by the company.

The Nutrient Optimizer was a critical component of the company’s digital, online farming software platform, which was used by farmers to collect, store and visualize critical agricultural field data and increase and improve agricultural productivity for farmers. Xiang Haitao’s actions were considered a serious threat to U.S. companies and their competitive advantage.

The sentence was handed down by the Eastern District of Missouri, which has a history of being a hub for economic espionage cases. Xiang Haitao’s conviction marks the first economic espionage conviction ever in the history of the Eastern District of Missouri.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/chinese-national-sentenced-economic-espionage-conspiracy