Chinese citizen charged with trade secrets theft in Oklahoma

TULSA (AP) — Federal prosecutors said Friday that a Chinese national employed by an Oklahoma petroleum company has been charged with stealing trade secrets.

Authorities said Hongjin Tan, 35, is accused of stealing trade secrets from his unnamed U.S.-based employer that operates a research facility in the Tulsa area.

An affidavit filed by the FBI alleges that Tan stole trade secrets about an unidentified product worth between $1.4 and $1.8 billion to his employer to benefit a Chinese company where Tan had been offered work.

Authorities say Tan allegedly downloaded hundreds of computer files, including research reports, regarding the manufacture of a "research and development downstream energy market product."

Read more: https://newsok.com/article/5618511/chinese-citizen-working-in-oklahoma-jailed-on-federal-theft-of-trade-secrets-complaint