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So your probably holding this Civil Investigative Demand from DOJ or FBI about trade secret theft and your entire career is imploding. Maybe you took files when leaving your employer. Maybe you collaborated with foreign researchers. Or maybe your just caught up in there latest technology crackdown. Look, we get it. Your ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED. And you should be! Because engineers are getting 15 YEARS in federal prison and companies face $5 MILLION fines for trade secret theft!
Let me explain the intellectual property nightmare your facing. The FBI has dedicated squads targeting trade secret theft and DOJ’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force is destroying “technology transferors”!
The Economic Espionage Act makes ANY trade secret theft a federal crime! Downloaded files before leaving? THEFT! Emailed yourself presentations? Criminal! Used knowledge from previous employer? ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE! We’ve seen legitimate job changes become federal prosecutions!
Here’s what’s really scary – Chenguang Gong transferred 3,600 files and faces decades in prison! He stole missile detection technology! The Google AI engineer? Arrested for taking algorithms! Your facing national security charges for corporate files!
Hold onto your security badge because these numbers will destroy everything!
Economic espionage under 18 USC 1831 carries 15 YEARS prison and $5 million fines! Commercial trade secret theft under 1832? 10 years and $5 million! Each file downloaded is separate count! 100 documents? That’s 1,000 years potential prison time!
Recent sentences are DEVASTATING – Chinese national got prison for stealing $1 BILLION in trade secrets! Semiconductor engineer sentenced for single chip design! Scientists imprisoned for sharing research! These aren’t spies – there engineers and researchers!
The China Initiative officially ended but prosecutions INCREASED! DOJ shifted focus but still targets Chinese collaborations!
Any connection to Chinese companies? Your investigated! Attended conference in Beijing? Suspicious! Have Chinese colleagues? POTENTIAL CONSPIRACY! We’ve seen professors imprisoned for normal academic collaboration!
The racial profiling continues under new names! “Disruptive Technology Strike Force” targets same people! If your Asian-American in tech, your presumed guilty! One client got prosecuted because his NAME sounded Chinese!
Your probably wondering “Who reported me?” Let me tell you what puts engineers in FBI’s crosshairs:
Employers immediately call FBI when employees leave! Exit interview red flags trigger investigations! Take new job at competitor? Criminal referral! Start your own company? THEFT PRESUMED!
Insider threat programs monitor everything! Badge swipes after hours flagged! Large downloads tracked! USB usage recorded! We’ve seen employees prosecuted for backing up there own work!
Civil litigation triggers CRIMINAL prosecution! The Defend Trade Secrets Act allows ex parte seizures!
Your former employer sues civilly AND reports criminally! Discovery in civil case becomes evidence in criminal! Deposition testimony used against you! We’ve seen defendants forced to choose between civil default or criminal self-incrimination!
The DTSA civil seizure is terrifying – federal marshals seize your computers without warning! Home raided! Devices confiscated! Cloud accounts frozen! All before any finding of wrongdoing!
ABSOLUTELY! And its happening to respected professionals! Massachusetts engineer indicted for semiconductor secrets!
Recent prosecutions are terrifying! February 2024 – missile technology engineer arrested! March 2024 – Google AI engineer charged! December 2024 – Oregon semiconductor engineer convicted! These aren’t criminals – there talented engineers!
The government doesn’t need to prove actual harm! Attempted theft is enough! Intent to benefit foreign entity? Not required! Just possessing trade secrets illegally = prison! We’ve seen engineers imprisoned for files they never even opened!
The scope is absolutely overwhelming! FBI demands EVERYTHING about your technology access:
Every file ever downloaded, all emails to personal accounts, cloud storage logins and contents, USB device history, home computer forensics, phone records and texts, even browser history!
For foreign collaboration its worse – travel records to conferences, communications with foreign nationals, financial records showing payments, visa applications, academic papers! How do you prove legitimate collaboration from “technology transfer”? You can’t!
Prepare for YEARS of career destruction! Trade secret investigations are extraordinarily complex:
Initial CID and device seizure (immediate), forensic analysis of electronics (6-12 months), tracing of document dissemination (6-12 months), damage assessment by victim company (6-12 months), DOJ prosecution decision (6 months), trial or plea negotiations (12-24 months)!
Your looking at 3-5 years MINIMUM! During this time, security clearance revoked, can’t work in tech industry, name appears in media, and professional reputation destroyed! Legal fees? Expect $500,000 to $1.5 million! We’ve seen engineers become unemployable!
National security claims DESTROY defendants! Economic espionage prosecutions require National Security Division approval!
Classified evidence you can’t see! CIPA procedures limit defense! Secret witnesses! Closed hearings! How do you defend against evidence you can’t examine? YOU CAN’T! The system is rigged against you!
Export control charges added! ITAR violations! Dual-use technology! Each technical discussion becomes potential crime! We’ve seen engineers face espionage charges for conference presentations!
NEVER talk to FBI without counsel! Cooperation rarely helps in trade secret cases!
Explaining legitimate work becomes confession! “I needed those files for reference” = admission of taking! “Everyone does it” = consciousness of guilt! “I created that code” = still theft if employer owned it! Every word proves there case!
But refusing to cooperate? Obstruction charges! Destroying evidence allegations! Enhanced sentences! We’ve seen engineers add years to prison by deleting personal copies of there own work!
IP theft DESTROYS immigration status! Foreign nationals particularly vulnerable!
H-1B revoked immediately! Green card applications denied! Naturalized citizens can be denaturalized! Even U.S. citizens with foreign ties face enhanced scrutiny! We’ve seen entire families deported over trade secret allegations!
The presumption of “foreign benefit” is impossible to overcome! Born in China? Presumed spy! Studied abroad? Technology transfer! Have foreign relatives? CONSPIRACY! Your ethnicity becomes evidence against you!
Look, we’re not your typical IP lawyers who just file patents. We’re federal criminal defense attorneys who specialize in keeping engineers and scientists out of federal prison when trade secret issues become criminal prosecutions!
We understand the technical complexity of modern R&D and how collaboration differs from theft. We know the Economic Espionage Act’s requirements and defenses. We can challenge forensic evidence and damage claims. Most importantly, we prevent civil disputes from becoming criminal cases!
Other firms tell you to cooperate and explain the technical details. That’s EXACTLY how engineers end up in federal prison! The government doesn’t care about innovation – they want national security convictions. We fight strategically, protecting your freedom and career!
Call us RIGHT NOW at 212-300-5196
IP theft investigations destroy careers overnight!
Former DOJ prosecutors – Trade secret defense experts – Available 24/7!
Don’t wait another second! FBI is imaging your devices! Your former employer is calculating damages! Foreign collaboration is being twisted into espionage! Your security clearance is being revoked! Every email increases liability!
Remember – trade secret cases aren’t about civil disputes anymore. Its about federal prison and career annihilation. One downloaded file, one foreign colleague, one job change can trigger criminal prosecution. You need someone who understands both technology complexity AND federal criminal defense. Call us NOW before that CID becomes handcuffs!
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS