Jin's attorney, John Murphy, said the documents she took contained information about a "diminishing and dying technology."
Prosecutors presented a much different story, saying Jin stole a "treasure trove" of Motorola secrets. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Fairley said Jin knowingly took hundreds of documents and planned to set up a new life for herself in her native China working for a company with "close ties to the Chinese military."
The government says Jin was living a double life. While on medical leave from her job as a senior software engineer for Schaumburg-based Motorola, prosecutors claim she was firming up a new job in China. Just days after returning to Motorola after a year off due to health problems, prosecutors say Jin was "caught red handed" at O'Hare trying to board a plane bound for Beijing. A Customs agent discovered confidential Motorola documents and $31,000 in cash. In court, those documents were described as "tremendously valuable to anyone trying to create cellular technology."
Jin has denied she is a spy. Her attorneys admit she violated company policy by removing the documents but say she was taking the information to China to refresh her memory on the technology after her long medical leave.
As Fairley wrapped up her closing arguments to U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo, she said Jin knew what she was doing was "very, very wrong."
Jin waived her right to a jury trial. Judge Castillo said he will submit a written verdict sometime in December.
