A Canadian national who was a resident of China pleaded guilty to a corporate espionage conspiracy targeting "a leading U.S.-based electric vehicle company," just the latest case of CCP-linked individuals threatening America's economic interests and national security.
Klaus Pflugbeil, a 58-year-old, admitted his role in the conspiracy to steal trade secrets with his co-defendant Yilong Shao — who "remains at large" — according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Pflugbeil and Shao owned a Chinese business that "sold technology used to make batteries, including batteries used in electric vehicles," explained the DOJ in an announcement on the case's outcome. Pflugbeil, who used to work for a company eventually purchased by the "leading U.S.-Based electric vehicle company," stole trade secrets and used them to build his company with Shao that marketed itself "as a replacement" for the products made by the company from which he stole the intellectual property.
"Despite Pflugbeil’s agreement to protect what he knew was proprietary, sensitive technology, he chose to abscond with these trade secrets to China, where he sought an unfair and illegal advantage in critical industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing," a statement from Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division emphasized. "With his guilty plea, Pflugbeil is now being held accountable for this unlawful conduct that jeopardized our national security."
