A Chinese man has pleaded guilty after trying to board a flight carrying trade secrets from his Kansas-based employer to China, according to federal prosecutors.
Zhang Junjie, 57, also known as Jeff Zhang, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas announced on April 1.
According to prosecutors, Zhang, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China, was a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked for a Wichita-based aviation company as a senior material and process engineer, which gave him access to confidential data and proprietary information.
The company reported Zhang to the FBI in 2018 after he “displayed suspicious behavior” during a work trip to China, according to prosecutors….
Chinese American Pleads Guilty After Attempting to Take Trade Secrets to China
