Former Google Engineer Faces Expanded Charges for Allegedly Stealing AI Secrets for Chinese Companies

Google's Ex-Engineer in US Accused of China Espionage

Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer is currently being charged in the United States. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled a revised indictment that consisted of seven counts of economic espionage and trade secrets theft. Ding is a Chinese national who joined Google in 2019. He is accused of secretly handing out confidential information to benefit China's artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The DOJ claims he illegally accessed Google's proprietary chip technology used for like Gemini and graphical processing units. released a statement clarifying that Ding acted independently. Moreover, the company immediately reported the case to law enforcement. "We have strong safeguards to prevent the theft of our confidential commercial information and trade secrets," said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda in an email to Bloomberg.

Former Google engineer faces new US charges he stole AI secrets for Chinese companies

U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled an expanded 14-count indictment accusing former Google software engineer Linwei Ding of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to benefit two Chinese companies he was secretly working for. Ding, 38, a Chinese national, was charged by a federal grand jury in San Francisco with seven counts each of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Each economic espionage charge carries a maximum 15-year prison term and $5 million fine, while each trade secrets charge carries a maximum 10-year term and $250,000 fine. The defendant, also known as Leon Ding, was indicted last March on four counts of theft of trade secrets. He is free on bond. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ding's case was coordinated through an interagency Disruptive Technology Strike Force created in 2023 by the Biden administration. The initiative was designed to help stop advanced technology from being acquired by countries such as China and Russia or potentially threatening national security. Prosecutors said Ding stole information about the hardware infrastructure and software platform that lets Google's supercomputing data centers train large AI models. Some of the allegedly stolen chip blueprints were meant to give Google an edge over cloud computing rivals Amazon and Microsoft, which design their own, and reduce Google's reliance on chips from Nvidia. Prosecutors said Ding joined Google in May 2019 and began his thefts three years later when he was being courted to join an early-stage Chinese technology company. Ding allegedly uploaded more than 1,000 confidential files by May 2023 and later circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of a China startup he founded, saying that country's policies encouraged development of a domestic AI industry. Google was not charged and has said it cooperated with law enforcement. According to court records describing a December 18 hearing, prosecutors and defense lawyers discussed a "potential resolution" to Ding's case, "but anticipate the matter proceeding to trial." The case is U.S. v. Ding, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-cr-00141.

Ex-Google engineer faces new US charges he stole AI secrets for Chinese companies

(Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled an expanded 14-count indictment accusing former Google software engineer Linwei Ding of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to benefit two Chinese companies he was secretly working for. Ding, 38, a Chinese national, was charged by a federal grand jury in San Francisco with seven counts each of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Each economic espionage charge carries a maximum 15-year prison term and $5 million fine, while each trade secrets charge carries a maximum 10-year term and $250,000 fine. The defendant, also known as Leon Ding, was indicted last March on four counts of theft of trade secrets. He is free on bond. Lawyers for Ding did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ding's case was coordinated through an interagency Disruptive Technology Strike Force created in 2023 by the Biden administration. The initiative was designed to help stop advanced technology from being acquired by countries such as China and Russia, or potentially threatening national security. Prosecutors said Ding stole information about the hardware infrastructure and software platform that lets Google's supercomputing data centers train large AI models. Some of the allegedly stolen chip blueprints were meant to give Google an edge over cloud computing rivals Amazon.com and Microsoft, which design their own, and reduce Google's reliance on chips from Nvidia. Prosecutors said Ding joined Google in May 2019 and began his thefts three years later, when he was being courted to join an early-stage Chinese technology company. Ding allegedly uploaded more than 1,000 confidential files by May 2023 and later circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of a China startup he founded, saying that country's policies encouraged development of a domestic AI industry. Google was not charged and has said it cooperated with law enforcement. According to court records describing a Dec. 18 hearing, prosecutors and defense lawyers discussed a "potential resolution" to Ding's case, "but anticipate the matter proceeding to trial." The case is U.S. v. Ding, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-cr-00141. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Ex-Google Engineer Faces New US Charges Over Theft of AI Secrets

US prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled an expanded 14-count indictment accusing former Google software engineer Linwei Ding of stealing Artificial Intelligence (AI) trade secrets to benefit two Chinese companies he was secretly working for. Ding, 38, a Chinese national, was charged by a federal grand jury in San Francisco with seven counts each of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Each economic espionage charge carries a maximum 15-year prison term and $5 million (roughly Rs. 43 crore) fine, while each trade secrets charge carries a maximum 10-year term and $250,000 (roughly Rs. 2.18 crore) fine. The defendant, also known as Leon Ding, was indicted last March on four counts of theft of trade secrets. He is free on bond. Lawyers for Ding did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ding's case was coordinated through an interagency Disruptive Technology Strike Force created in 2023 by the Biden administration. The initiative was designed to help stop advanced technology from being acquired by countries such as China and Russia, or potentially threatening national security. Prosecutors said Ding stole information about the hardware infrastructure and software platform that lets Google's supercomputing data centers train large AI models. Some of the allegedly stolen chip blueprints were meant to give Google an edge over cloud computing rivals Amazon.com and Microsoft, which design their own, and reduce Google's reliance on chips from Nvidia. Prosecutors said Ding joined Google in May 2019 and began his thefts three years later, when he was being courted to join an early-stage Chinese technology company. Ding allegedly uploaded more than 1,000 confidential files by May 2023 and later circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of a China startup he founded, saying that country's policies encouraged development of a domestic AI industry. Google was not charged and has said it cooperated with law enforcement. According to court records describing a Dec. 18 hearing, prosecutors and defense lawyers discussed a "potential resolution" to Ding's case, "but anticipate the matter proceeding to trial." The case is US v. Ding, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-cr-00141. © Thomson Reuters 2025

Chinese national accused of stealing AI secrets from Google facing new charges

A Chinese national who has been indicted for allegedly stealing AI secrets from Google is facing additional charges, federal prosecutors said. The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a grand jury indicted Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets. Ding, a 38-year-old software engineer who had lived in Newark, was previously indicted on four counts of theft of trade secrets last March after he allegedly stole 500 confidential files from Google. He was hired by the company in 2019, prosecutors said. According to the superseding indictment, Ding allegedly uploaded more than 1,000 files containing confidential company information into his personal Google Cloud account from May 2022 through May 2023. Prosecutors said the trade secrets pertained to the company's hardware infrastructure and software platform that allows Google's supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models. "The trade secrets contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of TPU chips and systems and GPU systems, the software that allowed the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrated thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads. The trade secrets also pertain to Google's custom designed SmartNIC and related software," the indictment said. During that time, Ding was offered the position of chief technology officer of a Chinese-based tech company. Between Oct. 2022 and Mar. 2023, Ding was in China seeking to raise capital for the company, the indictment said. In May 2023, prosecutors said Ding had founded a second tech company in China focused on AI and machine learning and was acting as its CEO. The indictment also alleges that he uploaded more files from Google in Dec. 2023, which the company detected. Prosecutors said Ding did not tell Google that he had previously uploaded 1,000 files or his affiliations with the Chinese-based companies. Google uncovered the uploads after finding out that Ding had presented himself as CEO of one of the companies during an investor conference in Beijing, the indictment said. The FBI executed a search warrant at his home in Jan. 2024 and Ding was arrested two months later. According to prosecutors, Ding faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each trade secret count and 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine for each count of economic espionage.

Chinese national charged with stealing Google AI trade secrets

A Chinese national working for Google in the United States faces economic espionage charges for allegedly stealing Google's proprietary information related to AI technology, the US Department of Justice said on Feb. 5. The 14-count superseding indictment accuses Linwei (Leon) Ding of uploading over 1,000 confidential Google files to his personal Google Cloud account between May 2022 and May 2023. The information allegedly included proprietary data on Google's hardware infrastructure and software platform, which supports the company's AI supercomputing systems. Ding, who was employed as a software engineer at Google since 2019, allegedly developed secret affiliations with two Chinese technology companies. According to the court document, the accused intended to benefit the Chinese government by stealing trade secrets from Google. Sharing trade secrets with tech companies in China Ding allegedly began discussions with the chief technology officer of a Chinese tech company in June 2022. By May 2023, he secretly founded an AI and machine-learning company in China and was serving as its CEO. According to the DOJ, Ding stole sensitive trade secrets, including details about Google's custom-designed SmartNIC, Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) chips and systems. Additionally, sensitive software built for chip communications and next-generation AI innovations were also leaked to benefit the People's Republic of China (PRC) government. Attacking Google from within Related: US-China tariffs cost Bitcoin $100K mark as analyst eyes all-time high The DOJ notice further alleged that Ding created and circulated PowerPoint presentations for the employees of his Chinese company, which cited PRC national policies and talent programs in China with statements like, "will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level." The case is currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the defendant has yet to be proven guilty. Ding was initially indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets. If convicted of all seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets, Ding will face 175 years of imprisonment and up to $36.75 million in fines. However, the final fine judgment is based on the US Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Charges mount in former ex-Googler's AI theft case

A Chinese national faces a substantial stint in prison and heavy fines if found guilty of several additional charges related to economic espionage and theft of trade secrets at Google. Linwei Ding, 38, known to colleagues as Leon Ding, is accused of stealing and transmitting back to Chinese companies more than a thousand files related to Google's proprietary AI work between 2022 and 2023. You may recall Ding's tale from March last year when he was charged with four counts of theft of trade secrets. A new superseding indictment brings additional charges this week: seven counts of theft of trade secrets and seven counts of economic espionage. The story outlined by prosecutors reveals some of the cunning ways technology could be hypothetically illegally transferred between borders, although it is an allegation at this point. Ding was hired as a software engineer in 2019 and worked on the software platform deployed in Google's supercomputing datacenters, according to the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week. Specifically, he worked on software that enabled GPUs to run more efficiently for machine learning and AI applications. Prosecutors say he was, therefore, granted special access to Google's confidential data related to the areas in which he worked: supercomputer datacenters, AI, and hardware infrastructure. Despite Google deploying data loss prevention mechanisms designed to detect any suspicious movement of files, confidential or otherwise, across its network, it wasn't until December 2023 that the company became aware of Ding's alleged activity. However, going by the allegations in the indictment, there may be an interesting way of circumventing those data loss mechanisms. The indictment alleges that Ding copied the content from Google source files directly into an Apple Notes document on his company-issued MacBook, saved the document as a PDF, and transferred that PDF to his personal account. The superseding indictment alleges that Ding began periodically copying Google's AI secrets to his personal Google Cloud account in May 2022, claiming he stopped almost exactly a year later in May 2023. Prosecutors claim the trade secrets spanned seven categories: Around a month after Ding allegedly started copying these files, he received a job offer from a Chinese AI startup, Beijing Rongshu Lianzhi Technology, to be its CTO with a monthly remuneration of around $14,800, plus bonuses and stock options, say prosecutors. Ding traveled to meet Rongshu's leadership in October 2022 and stayed there until March 2023, according to the indictment, during which time he remained a Google employee but also participated in investor meetings for the startup and was presented as the CTO. Days after Ding allegedly stopped lifting Google files, he founded a startup in China called Shanghai Zhisuan Technology and acted as its CEO. The company touted itself as one that developed a cluster management system to accelerate ML workloads such as those used to train AI models. The indictment also alleges that Ding successfully applied to the MiraclePlus startup incubation program and agreed to sell 7 percent of the company to the incubator in return for capital investment in November 2023. A company document allegedly circulated on WeChat later that month, claiming: "We have experience with Google's ten-thousand-card computational power platform; we just need to replicate and upgrade it - and then further develop a computational power platform suited to China's national conditions." Ding allegedly created a pitch deck the following month to apply for state funding made available to researchers, stating that Zhisuan's product would help the state achieve computing capabilities on par with international standards. An internal company memo also allegedly stated that the company would make its tech available to the government. It is claimed that Ding never told Google about his work with either Rongshu or Zhisuan during this time. Google alleges that it finally clocked Ding's supposed file copying in December 2023, when he is said to have copied more files to a separate Google Drive account. Days later, it claims a company investigator quizzed Ding about this and he claimed he was copying the files to keep as evidence of his work at Google, but had no intentions of leaving the company. After signing a self-deletion affidavit, promising to delete the files he copied, he booked a one-way flight to Beijing from San Francisco set to depart on January 7, 2024. On Boxing Day 2023, he confirmed his resignation from Google, saying his last day would be on January 5. According to the indictment, Google became aware of Ding's leadership of Zhisuan and its meeting with MiraclePlus on December 29. It promptly locked his company-issued laptop and revoked his network access. On the same day, Google examined surveillance footage and claims it showed a different employee (who wasn't Ding) badged in at the Google office to make it seem like Ding was working from Google HQ while he was actually in China. That employee claimed that Ding asked them to badge in for him while he was away. Google's security people collected Ding's company laptop and phone on January 4, and two days later the FBI searched his residence, seizing various devices. The feds allegedly found the stolen files on January 13, but Ding wasn't arrested until March 6. It's not specifically stated in either the original arrest warrant [PDF] or in the superseded indictment [PDF], but when FBI search warrants are issued for serious crimes, it's not uncommon for passport restrictions to be applied. Given that Ding was arrested months after his escape flight was due to take off, it's likely he never boarded due to the restrictions imposed alongside the search warrant. "Today's charges are the latest illustration of the lengths affiliates of companies based in the People's Republic of China are willing to go to steal American innovation," said former FBI Director Christopher Wray at the time of Ding's arrest. "The theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from American companies can cost jobs and have devastating economic and national security consequences. The FBI will continue its efforts to vigorously pursue those responsible for stealing US companies' intellectual property and most closely guarded secrets." If found guilty, Ding faces a maximum ten-year prison stint and a $250,000 fine for each of the trade secret counts, and 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine for each of the seven economic espionage counts. ®

Ex-Google Employee Charged With Stealing AI Trade Secrets, Faces 175 Years in Jail - Decrypt

A former Google engineer faces up to 175 years in jail after being accused of stealing trade secrets in a U.S. Department of Justice indictment. Linwei (Leon) Ding, 38, was charged by a federal grand jury in San Francisco with seven counts of economic espionage and a further seven counts of theft of trade secrets. Ding, who was arrested in March 2024 and is currently under investigation by the FBI, is accused of having uploaded proprietary data on Google AI supercomputer hardware infrastructure and software to his personal account. The DOJ claims he was doing this to benefit Chinese firms and, ultimately, "the PRC government and instrumentalities." Ding had allegedly been in talks with the chief technology officer of a Chinese tech company since June 2022, and is accused of uploading more than 1,000 Google documents to his personal cloud account between May 2022 and 2023. According to the DOJ: "Employee activity on Google's network was logged, including file transfers to platforms such as Google Drive." Ding allegedly uploaded the files to his personal Google Cloud account. Ding's role responsibilities, according to court documents, included "development of software that allowed GPUs to function efficiently for machine learning, AI applications..." He was authorized to "access Google Confidential Information related to Google's supercomputing data centers, including the hardware infrastructure, the software platform, and the AI models and applications they supported." By May 2023 Ding had founded an AI and machine learning company in China, made himself the CEO and shared PowerPoint presentations claiming that the firm, "will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level." After Google searched security camera records, it found another employee using Ding's card to periodically scan into his office. That person claimed to have been asked to do this while Ding was in China, and wanted to appear to still be working at Google. According to the DOJ, details about Google's SmartNIC, Tensor Processing Unit and Graphics Processing Unit chips were all stolen, while Ding is accused of leaking software built for next-gen AI innovations. The court documents state that the trade secrets "contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of TPU chips and systems and GPU systems, the software that allowed the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrated thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads." Each charge of economic espionage carries a maximum prison term of 15 years and a $5 million fine, while each trade secrets charge carries a maximum 10-year term and $250,000 fine -- meaning that if found guilty, Ding could face up to 175 years of imprisonment and fines of up to $36.75 million.