When the I-Team first reported on this federal case against Hanjuan Jin she was charged with stealing trade secrets from Motorola. Now, a month before trial, the government is laying out a much more sinister plot, that Jin was working in part for the Chinese government and was caught in the middle of a cover-up.
"It's not true," said Jin. "They're paranoid. They wrongly accused me."
From the beginning, Hanjuan Jin seemed astonished that anyone would consider her a corporate spy. Now, newly filed documents in the federal case against Jin reveal Jin's intent: to use trade secret documents for herself and her new Chinese employer and for the Chinese military, according to prosecutors.
When the trial begins in district court on November 7, U.S. prosecutors are asking that "sensitive materials" used in the case not be made public. And they may ask for the courtroom to be closed during some testimony.
Prosecutors will say that on February 28, 2007, Jin returned to Motorola from sick leave, and despite being given no work assignments that day, she immediately accessed 200 technical documents. Then they say Jin returned at 9 p.m. that night and left with arms full of documents. The next day she gave her resignation by e-mail and ignored requests to meet with her boss.
Authorities say she was found at O'Hare with top-secret Motorola files, schematics and military communication plans. She had bought a one-way ticket to China.
Jin told the I-Team she was going to visit her mother and husband.
Prosecutors say in their latest filing that Jin planned to stay in Beijing and spoke of buying a house there.
In papers filed by Jin's defense team, they contend there is no evidence she was paid for secrets; and they argue that spy evidence and her nationality are what they call a "dangerous brew" that could deny her a fair trial.
Jin had worked at Motorola for 10 years, mostly as a software engineer. In addition to the criminal charges, she is named in a federal civil suit by Motorola. the Company alleges that Jin rigged computers outside Motorola to access at least $600 million in corporate secrets. That trial is set for next July.
