A federal judge dismissed charges against a Chinese citizen
accused of helping to orchestrate an elaborate plot to steal
high-tech corn seeds from U.S. farms.
Mo Yun, 42, was dropped from the trade-secrets case after the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa granted her
lawyers' motion that excerpts of electronic-message conversations
should not be included as evidence, eliminating a significant part
of prosecutors' case against Ms. Mo, according to a court filing
late Tuesday. U.S. prosecutors this week asked the court to dismiss
the charges against her.
Ms. Mo was arrested in Los Angeles last summer and charged in an
indictment with helping her brother and five other Chinese
nationals plan a five-year gambit to dig up seeds and steal ears of
corn developed by Monsanto Co., DuPont Co. and LG Seeds, according
to U.S. officials. The corn, U.S. authorities alleged, was later
shipped back to Beijing for the benefit of Chinese agribusiness
firm Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co., or DBN, where Ms. Mo
worked from 2001 to 2009. Her husband, Dr. Shao Genhuo, is the
founder and chairman of DBN and has a net worth estimated by Forbes
this year at $2 billion. Dr. Shao and DBN haven't been accused of
any wrongdoing.
U.S. law-enforcement officials detailed the alleged scheme in
late 2013 following the arrest of Mo Hailong, who is Ms. Mo's
brother and who worked as a representative of DBN in the U.S. Mr.
Mo was charged with stealing trade secrets in a case that has drawn
attention partly because of the U.S. government's use of an
anti-spying law to gather evidence. Mr. Mo has pleaded not guilty
to the charges.
Terry Bird, a Los Angeles-based lawyer representing Ms. Mo, said
his client was "very pleased" with the dismissal and that she was
innocent of the charges. "She's very excited to be going home and
to return to being a mother and a wife and a family member in
China," he said.
U.S. prosecutors involved in the case declined to comment.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@wsj.com
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