Skip to main content
Press Release

Former GE Engineer Sentenced to 24 Months for Conspiring to Steal Trade Secrets

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jean Patrice Delia, age 46, of Montreal, Canada, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the General Electric Company (GE).

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his guilty plea entered on December 10, 2019, Delia admitted that he conspired with his business partner and co-defendant, Miguel Sernas, to compete against GE using trade secrets Delia stole from GE while employed by GE in Schenectady, New York.  Delia admitted that he and Sernas, operating as ThermoGen Power Services, used the stolen trade secrets, as well as stolen marketing data, pricing information, and other confidential GE documents, to compete against GE around the world. 

Delia, who was employed by GE as an engineer from 2001 through 2012, admitted to conspiring with Sernas from 2008 through 2019. 

United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also ordered Delia to pay $1.4 million in restitution. Judge D’Agostino also ordered Delia to jail, denying his request for a date on which to self-report to prison.

Sernas, a citizen and resident of Mexico, was sentenced on December 10, 2019 to time served (approximately 12 months in jail) and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution.

This case was investigated by the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Michael Barnett.

Updated November 10, 2021

Topics
Intellectual Property
National Security