【英语国际】美华裔夫妇被控向奇瑞出售通用汽车机密

Associated Press

DETROIT-A former General Motors Co. engineer and her husband conspired to steal trade secrets about hybrid technology and use the information to make private deals with Chinese competitors, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.

Shanshan Du and Yu Qin, both of Troy, were indicted on conspiracy, fraud and other charges. They had been under scrutiny for years and were charged in 2006 with destroying documents sought by investigators, a case that was dropped while a broader probe was pursued.

The indictment says Ms. Du, who was hired at GM in 2000, purposely sought a transfer in 2003 to get access to hybrid technology and began copying documents by the end of that year.

In 2005, she copied thousands of documents, five days after getting a severance offer from the auto maker, according to the indictment.

By that summer, Mr. Qin was telling people he had a deal to provide hybrid technology to Chery Automobile, a GM competitor in China, the indictment says. The couple had set up their own company, Millennium Technology International.

Outside court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cathleen Corken said there's no indication the Chinese benefited.

Jin Yibo, a Chery spokesman in China, said early Friday that he did not know whether the company had heard of the case and he could not immediately comment.

Ms. Du, 51, and Mr. Qin, 49, were arrested Thursday and remained mostly silent during a court appearance where they waived a reading of the indictment. Not-guilty pleas were entered for them. The maximum penalty if convicted is 20 years in prison.

'Theft of trade secrets is a threat to national security,' Andrew Arena, head of the FBI in Detroit, said in a statement.

Ms. Du's attorney, Robert Morgan, declined to comment. Mr. Qin's attorney, Frank Eaman, said he was 'completely surprised' by the indictment.

'This investigation has been going on so long I figured if they had a basis they would have charged them a long time ago,' Eaman said.

Ms. Corken said GM learned about the alleged theft and called the FBI. GM estimates the value of the stolen information at $40 million.

In May 2006, the couple were charged with destroying records to stifle an investigation of them. FBI agents followed them to a major grocery store where Mr. Qin approached a trash bin, according to a court filing at the time. Agents later retrieved shredded documents.

That criminal complaint was dropped less than two months later, a common move when investigators want to further develop a case. The indictment includes an obstruction of justice charge against Qin for the alleged dumpster incident.

Ms. Du and Mr. Qin, both U.S. citizens, were released on bond and ordered to mostly stay in the Detroit area.

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周四公布的美国联邦政府起诉材料说，通用汽车(General Motors Co.)原来的一名工程师和她的丈夫合谋，窃取了该公司有关混动汽车技术的商业机密，用来跟通用的中国竞争对手私下交易。

杜姗姗（音）和秦余（音）被控串谋、欺诈和其他罪名，两人均来自美国特洛伊市。他们二人已受到多年的调查，并在2006年被控毁坏调查人员追查的文件。这项指控已在一场更大范围调查进行之际被撤销。

起诉书说，杜姗姗2000年被通用汽车雇用，在2003年有意寻求工作调动，以便于能够接触到公司的混合动力汽车技术，并在那年年底开始复制文件。

起诉书说，2005年，她在收到通用汽车的离职通知后五天复制了数千份文件。

起诉书说，到当年夏天，秦余已在向人透露，他达成了一笔向中国奇瑞汽车(Chery Automobile)提供混动技术的协议。夫妻俩此前设立了自己的公司，名为“Millennium Technology International”。

美国助理检察官科肯(Cathleen Corken)在庭外说，没有证据显示中国方面因此获利。

奇瑞在中国的发言人金弋波周五早上说，他不知道公司有没有听闻此案，他不能立即置评。

杜姗姗51岁，秦余49岁，两人在周四被捕，出庭期间放弃了要求宣读起诉书的权利，多数时间保持沉默。他们进行了无罪抗辩。如果被判有罪，最高惩罚是20年监禁。

美国联邦调查局(FBI)底特律负责人阿雷纳(Andrew Arena)发表声明说，窃取商业机密是对国家安全的威胁。

杜姗姗的律师摩根(Robert Morgan)拒绝置评。秦余的律师伊曼(Frank Eaman)说，起诉完全出乎他的意料。

伊曼说，这次调查进行了很久，所以我猜他们要是有依据的话早就该起诉了。

科肯说，所谓窃密是通用汽车自己察知并向联邦调查局报告的。通用汽车估计被窃信息价值4,000万美元。

2006年5月，两人被控毁坏证据以阻碍调查。当时一份提交给法庭的文件显示，联邦调查局特工跟踪他们到了一个大型百货商店，看到秦余走近了一个垃圾箱。特工后来恢复了被撕碎的文件。

这起刑事诉讼在不到两个月后被撤销，这是调查人员希望就案件展开进一步调查时的常见之举。当时的起诉包括指控秦余因所谓垃圾箱事件妨碍司法。

杜姗姗和秦余都是美国公民，他们取得了保释，被命令多数时候不得离开底特律地区。

本文译自美联社(Associated Press)