Judge Sentences Man to 70 Months in Federal Prison for Theft of Trade Secrets

On February 18, 2020, District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. sentenced a North Carolina Man, Craig German, to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets. Mr. German pled guilty to the charge in September 2019. 

According to the DOJ, Mr. German and two other men worked together to steal trade secrets including aircraft wing schematics and anti-ice testing documents from aircraft companies both inside and outside of Georgia. The men were attempting to develop anti-ice aircraft technology for another company and allegedly stole trade secrets to speed the new product to market. Mr. German emailed documents to his co-conspirators.  

Mr. German faced up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. His sentence includes a fine of $2,000 and three years of supervised release following the almost six-year sentence. The FBI Special Agent in Charge in Atlanta remarked, “We are pleased by this sentence, and the FBI will continue to aggressively protect America’s economic security and intellectual property from foreign adversaries.” 

TIP: As the DOJ and FBI continue their ramped-up focus on criminal prosecution of trade secret theft, companies should look at criminal referrals as an additional tool in combatting and discouraging theft of their valuable trade secrets.