Former Google Engineer Charged With Trade Secret Theft

A former Google software engineer was charged with four counts of federal trade secret theft for an alleged plan to steal artificial intelligence technology from Google while also secretly working for two China-based companies, according to a Justice Department indictment Wednesday.

Linwei Ding, a Chinese national, was arrested Wednesday in Newark, California. Hired by Google in 2019, he was granted access to confidential information about the company’s supercomputing data centers. He allegedly began uploading hundreds of files to a personal Google Cloud account between May 2022 and May 2023.

While employed by Google, he was offered a chief technology officer position at an early-stage technology company in China that emphasized artificial intelligence usage. The indictment said Ding traveled to China to participate in investor meetings aimed at securing capital for the company.

The indictment said Ding also founded and served as CEO of a separate China-based startup, aimed at training AI models. Neither of his affiliations were disclosed to Google before he resigned on December 26. However, they were discovered shortly after when officials learned he had presented as a CEO of one of the companies at a Beijing investor conference.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said, “We have strict safeguards to prevent the theft of our confidential commercial information and trade secrets. After an investigation, we found that this employee stole numerous documents, and we quickly referred the case to law enforcement.”

A lawyer listed as Ding’s defense attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday evening, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the case during an American Bar Association Conference in San Francisco.

The FBI and Commerce Department are investigating the case.

Law enforcement authorities have consistently issued warnings regarding the dangers of Chinese economic espionage and the national security implications associated with advancements in artificial intelligence.

“Today’s charges are the latest illustration of the lengths affiliates of companies based in the People’s Republic of China are willing to go to steal American innovation,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from American companies can cost jobs and have devastating economic and national security consequences.”

If convicted, Ding faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. It is not immediately clear whether Ding has a lawyer to speak to on his behalf.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.