BREAKING: Ex-Ford Employee from China Arrested in Chicago for Stealing Trade Secrets from Ford

A Chinese man who worked for the Ford Motor Company until 2007 has been arrested in Chicago upon entering the U.S. and charged with stealing trade secrets, and unauthorized access to a protected computer, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Terrence Berg announced on Thursday. Xiang Dong Yu, aka Mike Yu, 47, from Beijing, China, was a Product Engineer for the Ford Motor Company from 1997 to 2007 and is said to have had access to important Ford trade secrets.

In December 2006, Yu accepted a job at the China branch of a U.S. company that has not been named. According to the indictment, on the eve of his departure from Ford and before he told the Detroit automaker of his new job, Yu allegedly copied some 4,000 Ford documents onto an external hard drive, including what are described as "sensitive design documents".

The FBI said that among others, those documents included system design specifications for the Engine/Transmission Mounting Subsystem, Electrical Distribution system, Electric Power Supply, Electrical Subsystem and Generic Body Module.

The indictment also claims that Yu used the stolen documents in an effort to lock a job with a yet unnamed Chinese automaker in 2008.

In an official statement, U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said: "Protecting the competitive edge technology of our companies through vigorous enforcement of our federal trade secret laws is a top priority of this office. Both employees and employers should be aware that stealing proprietary trade secrets to gain an economic advantage is a serious federal offense that will be prosecuted aggressively."

Special agent Andrew G. Arena from the FBI's Detroit division stated: "Michigan, as well as the rest of the United States, is significantly impacted by the auto industry. Theft of trade secrets is a threat to national security and investigating allegations involving theft of trade secrets is a priority for the FBI. The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue these cases."

The United States Attorney's Office said that each of the theft and attempted theft of trade secrets counts carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine while unauthorized access to a protected computer carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the FBI, Yu will remain in federal custody in Chicago where he is scheduled to have a detention hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009.