Engineer For Aurora Manufacturing Company Stole Trade Secrets For Chinese Competitor: Jury

AURORA, IL — An engineer employed by the since-shuttered Philips factory in Aurora was convicted by a federal jury for conspiring to steal trade secrets and bringing them to a Chinese competitor, prosecutors said.

After a week-long trial in Chicago, a jury found Chih-Yee Jen, 71, of two counts: conspiracy to steal, misappropriate or possess trade secrets and possession or attempted possession of stolen trade secrets.

At the former Dunlee brand facility, owned by Philips, employees researched, developed and manufactured X-ray tubes used in computed tomography (CT) medical imaging machines. Through Dunlee, Philips spent years developing proprietary X-ray technology and selling various devices to medical facilities, officials said.

In 2017, as Philips prepared to close the facility in Aurora, the China-based Kunshan Guoli Electronic Technology Co. and Xiaoqin Du, a vice president of Kunshan GuoLi, began communicating with Jen about creating a U.S. subsidiary for Kunshan GuoLi to help it compete with Philips in developing, manufacturing and selling X-ray tubes, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office's Northern District of Illinois.

While still employed by Philips, Jen, of Mequon, Wisconsin, began sharing confidential documents with Kunshan GuoLi and Du. He also recruited several Philips engineers to join him at the Kunshan GuoLi subsidiary.

Prosecutors said Jen copied Philips' proprietary X-ray trade secret information from internal databases and used the information to develop the technology for the Chinese subsidiary.

Two other Philips engineers, 57-year-old Fince Tendian, of Aurora, and Vladimir Nevtonenko, a 77-year-old resident of Arlington Heights, pleaded guilty before the trial. Nevtonenko's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1, and Tendian's is set for Dec. 8.

Du, 64, of Suzhou, China, as well as Kunshan GuoLi and a related Chinese company, Kunshan Yiyuan Medical Technology Co., were also indicted in the case. They were placed on the court's Fugitive Calendar and have not been arraigned.

"The theft of proprietary information is a serious economic crime that harms American jobs and stifles critically important research and development driving the future of our nation," U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said in a statement. "When individuals, corporate entities, or nation states steal proprietary information, they are threatening our country's technological edge. The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute trade secret theft to protect innovation, ensure fair competition, and safeguard national economic security."