When the FBI Comes Calling…®
When the FBI Comes Calling…®
You may be charged with:
Economic Espionage (18 U.S.C. § 1831)
In order for one to be convicted of this statute, the government prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA), must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. That the defendant stole, duplicated, communicated, bought, or otherwise obtained or provided access to trade secrets, without authorization; or
2. That the defendant conspired with one or more person to commit any of the above mentioned acts;
3. That the defendant knew or intended for the acts to benefit any foreign government, entity, or agent.
Potential Punishment:
Upon conviction, an individual may be fined up to $500,000 and imprisoned for up to 15 years. If the violation of the statute were committed by an organization, that organization may be fined up to $10,000,000. Additionally, 18 U.S.C. § 1834 mandates that the court, in imposing a sentence, shall also seize any property related to the unlawful act.
Theft of Trade Secrets (18 U.S.C. § 1832)
In order for one to be convicted of this statute, the government prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA), must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. That the defendant stole, duplicated, communicated, bought, or otherwise obtained or provided access to trade secrets, without authorization; or
2. That the defendant conspired with one or more person to commit any of the above mentioned acts;
3. That the defendant intended to obtain or communicate trade secrets for the economic interests of anyone other than the owner of that product;
4. That the defendant intended or knew that such an act would in some way injure the owner of that trade secret.
Potential Punishment:
Upon conviction, an individual may be fined and imprisoned for up to 10 years. If the violation of the statute were committed by an organization, that organization may be fined up to $5,000,000. Additionally, 18 U.S.C. § 1834 mandates that the court, in imposing a sentence, shall also seize any property related to the unlawful act.
When one is charged under this statute, the AUSA will seek an indictment from a Federal Grand Jury and may include charges for Import Crimes, Export Crimes, Trading With the Enemy, Industrial Espionage, Transnational Money Laundering, or NBC Weapons, and is likely to couple those charges with lesser included offenses such as False Statements or Obstruction of Justice where applicable. Should the government decide not to immediately seek indictment, one may be held under the Material Witness statute or, if related to any ongoing war (including the War on Terrorism) may be held through Combatant Detention.