LOS ANGELES, Calif. (CN) — A former engineer is set to appear in federal court Wednesday on charges he stole trade secrets designed to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
Chenguang Gong, 57, of San Jose, California, was arrested Tuesday on charges of theft of trade secrets from a Southern California research and development company. Officials believe he transferred more than 3,600 of its files to personal storage devices, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Gong transferred blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles and for sensors designed to enable U.S. military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles. Some files were found and seized from storage devices at Gong’s temporary residence in Thousand Oaks, according to the affidavit filed Monday in support of the government’s complaint.
Gong, who became a United States citizen in 2011, was released on a negotiated $2.5 million bond Wednesday following a hearing in San Jose. His next court date is not yet set.
The government said Gong’s former company “invested tens of millions each year for more than seven years to develop the technology,” which is very sensitive if obtained by competitors and international actors. It did not name the company Gong is accused of taking files from, but Pamela Reese, director of marketing and communications for HRL Laboratories LLC, confirmed that it is the Malibu-based company which Gong worked at. HRL Laboratories is a research and development laboratory specializing in sensors and applied electromagnetics in Malibu, owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors.
"When HRL became aware of suspicious activity being conducted by Gong, the company immediately began an investigation, terminated his employment and notified relevant authorities," Reese said. "HRL has continued to cooperate with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations on its case against Gong and will provide ongoing support as needed."
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said in a statement Wednesday that the defendant had previous ties to China's government.
“Mr. Gong, who had previously sought to provide the People’s Republic of China with information to aid its military, stole sensitive and confidential information related to detecting nuclear missile launches and tracking ballistic and hypersonic missiles," Estrada said.
"We know that foreign actors, including the PRC, are actively seeking to steal our technology, but we will remain vigilant against this threat by safeguarding the innovations of American businesses and researchers.”
The government’s affidavit said Gong worked at the company in January 2023 as an integrated circuit design manager responsible for the design, development and verification of infrared sensors. He's accused of transferring thousands of files from his work laptop to three personal storage devices — including after he had accepted a job on April 5, 2023, at a competitor company.
Charging documents also describe Gong as having transferred files on the development of “next generation” sensors to detect targets from space and blueprints for facilities to house and cryogenically cool sensors.
Between 2014 and 2022, while working at several major U.S. technology companies, Gong submitted applications to “Talent Programs” administered by China's government, according to the FBI, and traveled to China seeking funding to develop sophisticated analog-to-digital converters — similar to those produced by his employer — intended for military use.
He also in 2020 proposed developing image sensors for use in military night vision goggles and civilian applications, using a video containing the model number of a sensor developed by an international defense, aerospace and security company where he worked from 2015 to 2019.
The government says Gong traveled to China several times to seek funding and wrote in a 2019 email that he "took a risk" by traveling to the country because he worked for "an American military industry company” and thought he could “do something” to contribute to China’s “high-end military integrated circuits.”
The charge of theft of trade secrets carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
Donald Alway, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said that his office will pursue charges against anyone thought to have stolen trade secret information for their benefit or “for the benefit of foreign adversaries.”
“The theft of trade secrets, especially of sensitive military technology, undermines our national security, erodes U.S. competitiveness in the global market, and harms the businesses and individuals who have invested time, resources, and creativity into developing innovative technologies,” Alway said.
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