A man accused of trying to take confidential information from a Wichita aviation company to China has taken a plea deal.
Junjie Zhang pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one count of making a false statement.
Zhang — a 57-year-old from Tulsa — is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China. He worked as a senior material and process engineer at a Wichita aviation company.
In his plea agreement, Zhang admitted that he knew he had the company documents on his devices before his flight to China in 2019.
Federal court documents say agents later found proprietary graphs and blueprints worth more than $100,000 on a laptop and thumb drive, and the company confirmed Zhang did not have permission to take them.
Zhang is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
China passport with approved stamp on document for tourism.
China passport with approved stamp on document for tourism.Getty Images
