E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
A San Bernardino County resident has pleaded guilty to charges related to the illegal possession of trade secrets. Liming Li, 66, from Rancho Cucamonga, admitted to possessing sensitive technologies that he had downloaded from his Southern California-based employers. He used these technologies to market his own company in collaboration with a China-based enterprise.
"Protecting U.S. companies’ sensitive intellectual property is critical to our country’s success in a global economy," stated Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. "The defendant here stole intellectual property in order to benefit companies in China."
Li's actions were also addressed by Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office: "Mr. Li’s greed allowed him to be used by a Chinese company without regard for the negative implications to the economy or national security of the United States."
According to court documents, Li was employed at a business identified as "U.S. Company #1" from 1996 until 2013, where he held positions including senior software engineer and program manager. The company specialized in precision measuring instruments and metrological technology.
In July 2013, Li signed an employee handbook and confidentiality agreement with U.S. Company #1 but later admitted that he occasionally downloaded proprietary information onto personal devices without permission.
After being terminated from a subsidiary of U.S. Company #1 in January 2018, Li operated JSL Innovations Inc., a consulting firm. In March 2020, he signed an employment agreement with Suzhou Universal Group Technology Co. Ltd., based in China.
Li continued working for Suzhou Universal until his arrest in May 2023 while knowingly possessing proprietary information from U.S. Company #1 and accessing it without authorization.
United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt has scheduled sentencing for May 8, where Li faces up to ten years in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from the Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement and Bureau of Industry and Security under the Disruptive Technology Strike Force initiative.
Assistant United States Attorneys Aaron B. Frumkin, Solomon D. Kim, and David T. Ryan are prosecuting this case.
