Resident of China Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Send Leading Electric Vehicle Company’s Trade Secrets to Undercover U.S. Agent

Klaus Pflugbeil, 58, a Canadian national and resident of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to send trade secrets that belonged to a leading U.S.-based electric vehicle company (Victim Company). Pflugbeil and his co-defendant, Yilong Shao, who remains at large, are owners of a PRC-based business (Business-1) that sold technology used to make batteries, including batteries used in electric vehicles. Pflugbeil, a former employee of a company later purchased by Victim Company-1, stole trade secrets from his then employer and later used the trade secrets to build Business-1, marketing his business as a replacement for Victim Company-1’s products. Read More