Niskayuna Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Trade Secrets from GE

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Yang Sui, age 42, of Niskayuna, New York, pled guilty today to stealing trade secrets belonging to the General Electric Company.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers; United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; and Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his guilty plea, Sui admitted that between 2015 and 2017, he stole multiple electronic files pertaining to the research, design, and manufacture of silicon carbide MOSFETs (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors).  Silicon carbide MOSFETs are used in a variety of GE’s parts and products, including aviation equipment and wind turbines.

United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino will sentence Sui on September 22, 2020.  Sui faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or up to twice the value of the pecuniary gain to him from the crime, and up to 3 years of supervised release.  A sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. 

This case was investigated by the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss and National Security Division Trial Attorney Matthew Chang.