A federal jury has convicted a New York fiber laser expert of stealing military defense secrets to start a business in China.
Ji Wang, 63, faces up to 15 years in prison for economic espionage after pilfering classified research on laser weapons technology.
Wang’s conviction marks another victory in federal efforts to combat intellectual property theft linked to China’s state-sponsored recruitment programs.
Wang stole hundreds of files containing trade secrets from a $11.4 million military project on or around July 1, 2016. The stolen data included manufacturing technology for specialty optical fibers used in high-powered laser weapons.
Just ten days before the theft, Wang had applied for China’s Thousand Talents Plan Award. The program recruited Chinese-born scientists in America by offering millions in investment to return home.
Wang received his award two months after he had stolen the files. Court documents revealed he’d been negotiating with Chinese government entities since 2014 to establish a fiber business.
The stolen technology came from a joint project between Corning Incorporated and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The research aimed to increase fiber laser power by a factor of 1,000 for military applications.
“Yesterday, a federal jury found Wang guilty of stealing sensitive defense research from his employer and attempting to use it to pursue personal profit at the expense of our national security,” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg.
Wang’s business proposals to Chinese officials explicitly touted the military applications. In one plan, he wrote that specialty fibers “can also be installed on military vehicles,” including “tanks.”
He claimed the technology could “be key to deciding victory or defeat” in military conflicts. Chinese government entities had offered tens of millions in investment for the venture.
Wang immigrated to the United States in 1998 to work for Corning. He worked on the classified DARPA project from 2002 to 2007.
“Mr. Wang stole sensitive technology that Corning, Inc. and DARPA spent millions of dollars developing so he could line his own pockets and help our adversaries undermine U.S. national security,” FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said in a DOJ news release.
“For years, China’s government has waged a vast economic espionage campaign designed to put our nation at risk and American companies out of business. This conviction makes clear that the FBI and our partners will continue to hold accountable anyone looking to steal U.S. innovation for our enemies.”
The jury convicted Wang on five counts in total. These included two counts of economic espionage and one count of theft of trade secrets, as well as one count of attempted economic espionage and one count of attempted theft of trade secrets.
Law enforcement disrupted Wang’s plans before he could exploit the stolen technology. His sentencing is scheduled for April 15, 2026.
The FBI and Department of Commerce agents investigated the case. Prosecutors from the Western District of New York and the National Security Division handled the trial.