LANSING (WWJ) - A chemical engineer from Michigan was sentenced to federal prison on Monday after she was convicted of conducting economic espionage to benefit China while working for American companies.
Xiaorong You, 59, of Lansing, Mich. — also known as "Shannon" — was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Greeneville, Tenn. to 14 years in prison after prosecutors said she conspired to steal secrets about the internal BPA-free coating used on the inside of beverage cans from Coca-Cola and Eastman Chemical Company, Fox 2 reported.
Federal prosecutors said she then used the stolen trade secrets to establish a Chinese company with backing from the Chinese government.
You was convicted last month on charges including conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud.
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According to prosecutors, You had access to the trade secrets while employed with Coca-Cola in Atlanta and Eastman Chemical Company in Tenn.; the internal, BPA-free coating cost the companies over $120 million to create.
Prosecutors said You worked as the principle engineer for global research at Coca-Cola from December 2012 through August 2017. She was later employed as packaging application development manager at Eastman Chemical from September 2017 through June 2018.
You went on to establish a BPA-free coating company based in China; prosecutors said her Chinese partner, Weihai Jinhong Group, was given millions of dollars in government grants by the Chinese government to start the company.
As reported by Fox 2, prosecutors accused You of using the stolen trade secrets to "benefit the governments of China, the Chinese province of Shandong, the Chinese city of Weihai and the Chinese Communist Party."
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