An Ohio man was sentenced Monday to 33 months in prison for conspiracy to steal trade secrets related to exosomes involved in the research and treatment of a range of pediatric diseases, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Tuesday (April 20).
Yu Zhou, 51, was charged with stealing scientific trade secrets related to exosomes and exosome isolation from the National Children’s Hospital Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio, for personal gain and pleaded guilty in December 2020. Zhou Yu was also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court documents, Zhou Yu and his wife, Li Chen, 48, who worked on different medical research at the institute, were charged with conspiring to steal at least five trade secrets related to the institute’s exosome research. Both husband and wife have pleaded guilty, and Li Chen was sentenced to 30 months in prison in February of this year. They were both arrested in California in August 2019.
“Zhou Yu sought to use U.S. taxpayer funds intended to fund critical life-saving research at the nation’s children’s hospitals by wholesale theft of their trade secrets,” the Justice Department statement quoted John C. Demers, assistant secretary for national security affairs, as saying. “The Chinese government’s greed was encouraged and empowered by a series of programs that incentivized theft and sought to leverage U.S. ingenuity and investment to complement China’s own research and development goals. This successful prosecution should serve as a warning to anyone seeking to profit from the theft of hard-won U.S. trade secrets.”
“Yu Zhou voluntarily participated in a longstanding effort by the Chinese government to steal U.S. intellectual property,” said Vipal J. Patel, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, in a statement. “Zhou and his wife engaged in a conspiracy over a period of several years to set up companies in China to steal and benefit from U.S. research. The couple deserved the sentences they received in federal prison.”
Authorities said the two defendants received benefits from the Chinese government, including the State Administration of Foreign Experts and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Zhou Yu and Chen Li also participated in the application process for various Chinese government projects, including talent programs.
As part of their conviction, Zhou Yu and Chen Li will also forfeit approximately $1.45 million in stock in their medical company and be ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution.
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