According to the stipulated factual basis at the guilty plea, Soileau admitted that he used a portable USB storage device to access his former employer’s computers at Applied Electronic Systems and Sondex, which are both located in Broussard, Louisiana, and subsidiaries of General Electric Oil and Gas (GE). Soileau downloaded more than 3,700 files containing pictures, diagrams, and other information relating to tools and equipment used in oilfield exploration work. He then brought the information to his new employer at Advanced Electronic Services, and they used the information for work done at Advanced Electronic Services. After being questioned by GE security staff, Soileau admitted to taking the computer files and providing them to his new employer. FBI agents linked Soileau to the computers used in the theft through the USB.

Soileau faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, restitution, and three years of supervised release for the count of unauthorized access to a protected computer. Sentencing was set for September 13, 2013, in Lafayette. The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Namie P. Myers is prosecuting the case.

“Theft of intellectual property information is a growing problem in our country,” Finley stated. “We are primarily seeing it here in the oil and gas industry, but it occurs in many other industries. Intellectual Property theft hurts everyone, not just companies, and our office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who violate these laws. On the eve of World IP Day, this prosecution should serve as a deterrent to those who would seek to profit by stealing the intellectual property of others.”

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. World IP Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to be celebrated every April 26th in order to promote the discussion of IP in encouraging innovation and creativity. The entire U.S. economy relies on some form of IP, because virtually every industry either produces it or uses it. American IP-intensive industries directly accounted for 27.1 million American jobs or 18.8 percent of all employment in the economy in 2010.

Intellectual property theft is an ongoing problem, and the Department of Justice’s Task Force on Intellectual Property, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), and other government and private organizations work to fight IP theft. Citizens can help stop IP theft by not purchasing “knock-offs,” pirated media, or other counterfeit goods. To find out more about IP theft, the public is encouraged to visit www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce, www.iprcenter.gov, and www.ncpc.org/topics/intellectual-property-theft.

The jury found that Nosal had conspired to gain unauthorized access to the computer system of his former employer, the executive search firm Korn/Ferry International, and to illegally obtain trade secrets belonging to Korn/Ferry. The jury also found Nosal guilty of three substantive computer intrusions in April and July 2005 and two substantives trade secret offenses that occurred in April 2005. The guilty verdict followed a two-week jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen.

Evidence at trial showed that Nosal, 55, of Danville, entered into an agreement with other Korn/Ferry employees in 2004 to take confidential and proprietary materials from Korn/Ferry’s computer system to be used in a new business that Nosal intended to establish with those individuals after he left Korn/Ferry’s employment in late 2004. The evidence showed that two of those employees downloaded large numbers of “source lists” (essentially, targeted lists of candidates developed by Korn/Ferry for the purpose of filling particular positions at particular client-companies) prior to their own departures from Korn/Ferry. Thereafter, those two employees used the Korn/Ferry login credentials of another conspirator who was still employed at Korn/Ferry to download additional source lists and other information from Korn/Ferry’s computer system in April and July 2005 for use in Nosal’s new business.

The trial in this case occurred after remand from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had affirmed then-District Court Judge Marilyn H. Patel’s pre-trial dismissal of several computer intrusion counts.

Nosal was initially indicted by a federal grand jury on April 10, 2008. The government obtained superseding indictments on June 26, 2008 and February 28, 2013. In the most recent superseding indictment, Nosal was charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of unauthorized access to a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, one count of unauthorized downloading and copying of trade secrets, and one count of unauthorized receipt and possession of stolen trade secrets. Nosal was found guilty on all six counts of this indictment.

The sentencing of Nosal is scheduled for September 4, 2013, before Judge Edward M. Chen in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for the conspiracy charge in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 and the unauthorized access charges in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030(a)(4), is five years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. The maximum statutory penalty for the trade secret charges is 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle F. Waldinger and Matthew A. Parrella and U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Jenny C. Ellickson are the attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rayneisha Booth, Elise Etter, Beth Margen, and Hui Chen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to court records, a federal grand jury returned the two-count indictment against Dr. Zhao on April 9, 2013. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum term of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a maximum of three years’ supervised release for the charge of attempting to damage a protected computer; and a maximum term of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a maximum of three years’ supervised release for the charge of making a false statement.

Court records indicate that Dr. Zhao, a research scientist formerly employed by the medical college, previously had been charged in a criminal complaint with the theft of the anti-cancer compound, in violation of the Economic Espionage Act. The United States moved to dismiss that complaint without prejudice in light of the indictment returned by the grand jury. According to court records, the indictment relates to efforts by Dr. Zhao to obstruct the investigation into the theft of the compound by lying to the FBI and by covertly accessing the medical college’s computer server and attempting to delete proprietary information—including research data—related to the stolen compound.

United States Attorney Santelle explained: “The professional work being done by institutions like the Medical College of Wisconsin is vital to the present care and treatment and the future health and welfare of individuals in Wisconsin, throughout the United States, and across the globe. The United States Department of Justice, the Office of the United States Attorney, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with our partners in the public and private sectors, are all committed to vigorously enforcing federal criminal law, to ensuring the safety of our community, to guarding against all threats to our economy, and to protecting our nation’s leadership in medical innovation and research.” United States Attorney Santelle added that the investigation into the ultimate disposition of the stolen compound and the ultimate intended use of the proprietary information stolen from the medical college and transported overseas is continuing.

“Proactive outreach through our Strategic Partnership Program was a key factor in this case—the arrest was a direct result of building awareness of insider threats with our public and private partners,” said Teresa L. Carlson, Special Agent in Charge. “The FBI will aggressively pursue those who damage or delete information on protected computer systems to further their own interests.”

The investigation in this matter is being conducted by the FBI, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen A. Ingraham.

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely the formal method of charging an individual and do not constitute inference of his or her guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until such time, if ever, that the government establishes his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.