Xiaodong Sheldon Meng, 42, a Chinese immigrant working for a Quantum3D, a San Jose, Calif. computer firm has pleaded guilty to industrial spying on behalf of the Chinese navy, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Meng was charged in December 2006 with violating the Foreign Economic Espionage and Arms Export Control acts by exporting industrial secrets pilfered from Quantum3D. The trade secret he stole, known as "Mantis," is a Quantum3D product used to simulate real world motion for military training purposes, the department said.
He intended to pass it on to the People's Republic of China Navy Research Center.
It was the first time authorities had won a conviction in a case involving the export of stolen military-related source code, it said.
Meng, currently out of custody on a $500,000 bond, faces a possible maximum two-year prison sentence and fines totaling $1.5 million, the department said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007
