An indictment unsealed Tuesday charges a former General Electric engineer and a Chinese businessman with economic espionage and conspiring to steal company trade secrets.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York says 56-year-old Xiaoqing Zheng of Niskayuna and 47-year-old Zhaoxi Zhang of China intended to sell GE secrets surrounding turbine technology to China. According to the 14-count indictment, Zheng worked at GE Power & Water in Schenectady, as an engineer specializing in sealing technology. Authorities say he stole electronic files involving designs and specifications associated with GE gas and steam turbines. Zheng transferred many of the stolen GE files to Zhang in China to advance their own business interests in two Chinese companies.
Zheng was arraigned Tuesday in Albany. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Two other former GE engineers were charged with conspiring to steal turbine trade secrets in March.
