The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement Feb. 1 saying that Li Chen, 47, a Chinese-American scientist from Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets related to exosomes, which are involved in the research, identification and treatment of a range of pediatric diseases.
Chen Li had pleaded guilty at a video conference in U.S. District Court on July 30 of last year. She was charged with conspiracy to steal scientific trade secrets from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the research, identification and treatment of various pediatric diseases. Chen and her husband, co-conspirator Yu Zhou, 50, each worked at the hospital’s medical research lab for 10 years (Zhou from 2007 to 2017 and Chen from 2008 to 2018). They admitted conspiring to steal at least five trade secrets related to exosome research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Court documents say Chen Li conspired to steal and profit from trade secrets by manufacturing and selling exosome “isolation kits,” and also admitted to selling the kits from companies she set up in China and then profiting from them. Chen Li also received benefits from China’s State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and China’s National Natural Science Foundation, and participated in several Chinese talent programs.
Chen and her husband executed a scheme over a period of several years to set up businesses in China to steal and profit from U.S. research,” said David M. DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. Chen willingly participated in a long-term effort by the Chinese government to steal U.S. intellectual property. She should spend Time in federal prison.”
Alan E. Kohler Jr, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, said, “The most important mission of a hospital is to help people live longer, healthier lives. However, the defendants’ mission is to steal trade secrets and create a company in China that makes money from those stolen trade secrets.” He stated, “The FBI will not stop its efforts to identify those who steal technology for their own financial gain or for the benefit of foreign governments.”
Chanley reportedly agreed to pay about $1.25 million, including 500,000 shares of Avalon GloboCare Corp. common stock and 400 shares of GenExosome Technologies Inc. common stock. As part of the judgment, she was ordered to pay $2.6 million in damages. The Chanleys were arrested in California in July 2019 and their case was unsealed when they appeared in federal court in Columbus in August 2019. Zhou Yu has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
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