Friday, April 6, 2018

Chinese rice breeder jailed



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.