A former engineer for Coca-Cola has been convicted of stealing trade secrets relating to can coatings and using them to set up a company in her native China.
Xiaorang You, who used the name “Shannon You” in the U.S., was convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud after a 12-day trial. She had been indicted in February 2019, with the espionage charge coming in August 2020.
You was employed as a principal engineer by Coca-Cola from 2012 to 2017, and for almost a year after that, as a development manager for Eastman Chemical. In that capacity, she had access to trade secrets relating to alternatives to bisphenol-A, an additive used for plastics that line the inside of food and beverage cans, protecting them from rust and other damage. Bisphenol-A has been linked to cancer and other disorders in laboratory studies, and companies have been scrambling to find other options.
Prosecutors charged that You stole trade secrets by, among other things, taking pictures of files and transferring proprietary information to an external hard drive. She then set up a company in China, partially subsidized by the Chinese government, with the ultimate goal of producing BPA alternatives to compete with U.S. companies. The stolen technology belonged to several major chemical and coating companies and cost almost $120 million to develop, prosecutors said.
You, 59, has a doctorate in polymer science from Lehigh University.
The trial took place in federal court in Greeneville, Tenn. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 1.
