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Bartlesville Man Accused of Trade Secret Theft

 

A Chinese national employed by an Oklahoma petroleum company has been charged with stealing trade secrets.

 

Federal prosecutors in Tulsa said Friday that 35-year-old Hongjin Tan is accused of stealing trade secrets from his unnamed U.S.-based employer that operates a research facility in the Tulsa area.

 

An affidavit filed by the FBI alleges that Tan stole trade secrets about an unidentified product worth more than $1 billion to his employer to benefit a Chinese company where Tan had been offered work.

 

A LinkedIn page for a Hongjin Tan whose education background matches those described in the affidavit indicates he was a staff scientist at Phillips 66 Research Center in Bartlesville, which is part of the Northern District of Oklahoma.

 

The Tulsa World quotes Phillips 66 spokesman Dennis Nuss as saying the company is cooperating with the FBI regarding a former employee at the Bartlesville location.

 

The company contacted the FBI Dec. 13, one day after Tan told his supervisor he was resigning from the company in two weeks to return to China to be with his family, according to the affidavit.

 

Tan lives in Bartlesville.  He was hired in April 2017 as a research engineer in the company's battery development group, according to the affidavit.

 

Authorities say Tan allegedly downloaded hundreds of computer files regarding the manufacture of a "research and development downstream energy market product."

 

Court records show Tan made an initial appearance before a federal magistrate Thursday and remains in custody. A preliminary and detention hearing is scheduled next week.

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