Jury in NJ convicts Ill. man in military info case

NEWARK (AP) — A man who worked for a New Jersey-based defense contractor was found guilty on Wednesday of taking military trade secrets from his employer and presenting them in his native China.

Sixing Liu is a former employee of Space & Navigation, a New Jersey division of New York-based L3 Communications. The 48-year-old was arrested at his home in Deerfield, Ill., in March 2011 and accused of taking restricted military data and presenting them at two conferences in China the previous fall. Prosecutors argued the technology was proprietary and could be used for target locators and other military applications.

A federal jury in Newark found Liu guilty on nine counts, including exporting defense-related data without a license and possessing stolen trade secrets. He was acquitted on two counts of lying to federal authorities.

Liu was ordered held until his Jan 7 sentencing. He faces up to 20 years in prison and possible deportation.

Liu sat quietly at the defense table and showed little reaction as the verdict was read. The father of three later turned to one of his daughters, seated in court, and handed her his watch and the contents of his pockets as he prepared to be led off to jail.

Liu’s attorney, James Tunick, said they would file an appeal.

According to the indictment, Liu took a personal laptop computer to conferences on nanotechnology in Chongqing in 2009 and Shanghai in 2010 and, while there, gave presentations that described the technology he was working on, in violation of U.S. laws that prohibit exporting defense materials without a license or approval from the Department of State.

Returning from Shanghai in November 2010, Liu lied about his involvement in the conference when questioned by customs officials at Newark Liberty International Airport, prosecutors said.

Tunick had argued his client had not intentionally violated any rules and had downloaded information on his personal laptop to work on outside the office. Tunick also said Liu had received only brief training on the company’s restrictions on sharing proprietary information and was unfamiliar with U.S. import-export rules. He also sought to downplay the conferences in China as academic gatherings that featured professors from many countries, including the U.S.

Describing his client as “an educator,” Tunick said Liu’s punishment seemed harshly disproportionate to those levied against U.S. corporations found guilty of violating the same trade laws.

“There was no financial motive, no quid pro quo,” Tunick said of Liu’s case. “On these types of alleged crimes, the Department of Justice treats corporations differently.”