Fibre laser expert convicted of economic espionage

What happened

A federal jury in New York convicted Corning researcher Ji Wang of economic espionage and trade secret offences on 4 November 2025, the US Department of Justice said.

Wang, 63, of Painted Post, New York, was found guilty on five counts: two of economic espionage, one of stealing trade secrets, one of attempted economic espionage and one of attempted trade secret theft. The department announced the verdict in a statement published on 5 November, which is the source of this report.

According to the department, Wang took hundreds of files containing unpublished research data from his employer on or around 1 July 2016. The material included confidential manufacturing methods for producing specialised optical fibres, including those used in fibre lasers.

Prosecutors said his business plans showed that he intended to use the information to establish a company in China. Law enforcement intervened before he could launch the business and put the stolen technology to use, the department said.

The FBI and the US Commerce Department's Office of Export Enforcement investigated the case, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit. Prosecutors from the Western District of New York and the Justice Department's National Security Division brought the case.

The background

Wang was born in China and moved to the United States in 1998 to work for Corning. Between 2002 and 2007, he worked on a research programme jointly funded by the company and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA.

The five-year programme cost $11.4m and sought to develop optical fibres for powerful lasers with both commercial and military uses. Its target was to increase fibre laser power more than a thousandfold. DARPA wanted the technology for weapons capable of intercepting drones and missiles.

The stolen material therefore concerned manufacturing knowledge with uses beyond a single product. According to the department, it would have allowed Wang to make a broad range of specialised fibres. The research programme had ended roughly nine years before the theft, illustrating how older technical records can retain commercial and security value.

From at least 2014 through 2017, Wang negotiated with Chinese government entities about establishing his proposed business. He sought investment worth tens of millions of dollars, with those entities expected to become shareholders, the department said. The statement does not say that the investment was paid.

Ten days before taking the files, Wang applied for China's Thousand Talents Plan Award. The Justice Department described the government initiative as offering substantial investment to attract China-born scientists and technology specialists working or studying in the United States back to China. Wang was selected for an award two months after the theft.

His business proposals also promoted military uses for the technology. In a plan submitted to a Chinese government entity, he described its potential use on military vehicles, including tanks, according to the department.

The case concerns an employee's misuse of research associated with his own work, rather than a reported intrusion by an outside attacker. The department's account does not explain how Wang removed the files, what storage devices or accounts were involved, or how investigators first identified the theft.

There is a related allegation of technical information being taken to support outside business interests in the case involving a Google engineer accused of AI trade secret theft. Prosecutors in that case accused Linwei Ding of copying more than 500 confidential files while pursuing interests with two China-based companies. That earlier report concerned allegations, whereas Wang's case has reached a jury verdict.

What people are saying

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Wang had stolen sensitive defence research from his employer in pursuit of personal financial gain. He presented the conviction as part of the department's work against economic espionage and threats to US technology security.

Michael DiGiacomo, the US Attorney for the Western District of New York, said the case demonstrated the importance of safeguarding American trade secrets, particularly information with military applications. He said his office would continue prosecuting such thefts.

Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, said the stolen technology reflected substantial investment by Corning and DARPA. He characterised the case as part of a wider Chinese government economic espionage campaign against US interests and businesses.

Jonathan Carson, who leads the New York field office of the Commerce Department's Office of Export Enforcement, said his agency would continue working with law enforcement and industry to prevent sensitive technology being transferred unlawfully.

What happens next

The Justice Department said sentencing was scheduled for 15 April 2026 at 2pm before US District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr, who presided over the trial.

The department listed maximum prison terms of 15 years for economic espionage and 10 years for trade secret theft. Those figures describe statutory limits, not the sentence imposed on Wang.

The announcement provides no sentencing recommendation or account of any intended appeal. It also contains no response from Wang or his legal representatives, and no separate statement from Corning.