August 15, 2014

Los Angeles Grand Jury Indicts Chinese National in Computer Hacking Scheme Allegedly Involving Theft of Trade Secrets

LOS ANGELES—A federal grand jury has indicted a Chinese national on five felony offenses stemming from a computer hacking scheme that involved the theft of trade secrets from American defense contractors, including The Boeing Company, which manufactures the C-17 military transport aircraft.

Su Bin—who also used the names “Stephen Su,” “Stephen Subin” and “Steven Subin”—was named in a five-count indictment returned Thursday afternoon and filed in United States District Court.

Su is currently in custody in British Columbia, Canada, where he is being held pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant submitted by the United States. Su was previously charged in a criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles, but the indictment is now the operative charging document.

The indictment alleges that Su, a 49-year-old businessman, worked with two unindicted co-conspirators based in China to infiltrate computer systems and obtain confidential information about military programs, including the C-17 transport aircraft, the F-22 fighter jet, and the F-35 fighter jet.

The indictment specifically alleges three charges related to unauthorized computer access, a conspiracy to illegally export defense articles and a conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The charges carry a total maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.