A former scientist at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico was sentenced Monday to one year and one day in prison after pleading 'guilty' to bringing restricted government equipment along on a trip to China.
Jianyu Huang, 46, a naturalized American citizen born in China, was indicted in June 2012 on eight counts for using U.S. government equipment to do research for Chinese institutions and lying to officials about his intentions to bring that equipment overseas.
Over the course of three years, while working at Sandia Labs — a government-owned research facility for the National Nuclear Security Administration under the Department of Energy — Huang used government resources to perform research for Chinese businesses and universities, according to the indictment.
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In 2011, Huang was invited to speak at a research conference in China. Per regulations, he met with the Sandia Office of Counterintelligence beforehand and assured them he would not be taking his work computer or any other government equipment with him on the trip.
In direct violation, Huang took his work laptop, a hard-drive and computer-related media. Customs and Border Protection agents confiscated the laptop on Huang's return to the U.S. on July 18, 2011, at which time he admitted he was not allowed to take the equipment out of the country.
Huang was also hit with an embezzlement charge alleging he stole DOE computer files, including research proposals, from April 2012 through to his arrest in June of that year.
Huang pleaded 'guilty' in August to charges of transporting stolen property across interstate lines and making false statements and was sentenced Monday in Albuquerque. The one year and one day prison term will be followed by a year of supervised release.
