Syracuse Man Charged with Stealing Trade Secrets

United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and FBI Special Agent In Charge John Pikus today announced the arrest of Shalin Jhaveri, 29, of Syracuse, New York. Jhaveri is charged by complaint with stealing trade secrets and proprietary information from his employer, Bristol-Myers-Squibb in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 1832.1 If convicted, Jhaveri faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Jhaveri appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge George H. Lowe is being held without bail pending a detention hearing scheduled for February 8, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. in Syracuse.

According to the complaint, Jhaveri admitted being employed by Bristol-Myers-Squibb as a Technical Operations Associate from November of 2007 until his termination on February 2, 2010. The complaint further alleges that during his employment, Jhaveri stole numerous trade secrets as part of a plan to establish a pharmaceutical firm in his native India which would compete with Bristol-Myers-Squibb in various markets around the world.

U.S. Attorney Hartunian praised the cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service which participated jointly in the investigation. John Pikus, Special Agent In Charge of the FBI noted that theft of trade secrets and intellectual property has become a matter of increasing importance for federal law enforcement agencies who must, necessarily, pool their resources to address the growing problem.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Green of the United States Attorney’s Office in Syracuse New York. He can be reached at (315) 448-0672.