Weiqiang
Zhang, 51, a Chinese national living in Manhattan, Kansas,was
sentenced to more than 10 years in prison in Kansas for stealing rice
from a company breeding program.
Zhang
was convicted in February 2017 on three counts, including conspiracy
to steal trade secrets and interstate transportation of stolen
property.
“Today’s
sentence demonstrates the significant consequences awaiting those who
would steal trade secrets from American companies,” said John P.
Cronan, the
United States Department of Justice’s
acting assistant attorney general.
Zhang,
who holds a doctorate from Louisiana State University, worked as a
rice breeder for Kansas-based Ventria Bioscience Inc, which develops
genetically programmed rice used in the therapeutic and medical
fields.
He
stole hundreds of rice seeds produced by Ventria and stored them at
his Manhattan residence.
