A former employee of defense contractor L-3 Communications
Holdings Inc. (LLL), has been sentenced to about six years in
prison for exporting sensitive U.S. military technology to China,
the Justice Department said.
Sixing Liu, also known as Steve Liu, was convicted by a jury of
charges involving arms export and trafficking, possession of stolen
trade secrets, transport of stolen property and lying to federal
agents.
According to the Justice Department, Mr. Liu stole thousands of
electronic files detailing the performance and design of guidance
systems for missiles, rockets, target locators and unmanned aerial
vehicles about three years ago from L-3 Communications. He stole
the files to position and prepare himself for future employment in
China and had delivered presentations about the technology at
several Chinese universities and conferences organized by Chinese
government entities, the Justice Department said.
In addition to the prison term, Mr. Liu was also sentenced to
serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a
$15,000 fine.
A representative of L-3 wasn't immediately available for
comment. A lawyer representing Mr. Liu also couldn't immediately be
reached for comment.
Shares closed Monday at $79.82 and were unchanged after hours.
The stock is up 20% over the past 12 months.
Write to Debbie Cai at debbie.cai@dowjones.com
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