LEGAL STATUS
Convictions affirmed (6th Cir., July 11, 2023). Resentenced Sept 16, 2024; press reports the same 168-month term and $200,000 fine. The amended judgment itself was not located, so this is marked press-reported.1
AS OF 2026-10-20
Timeline
- 2012-12 to 2017-08Principal Engineer for Global Research at Coca-Cola2
- 2017-09 to 2018-06Employed at Eastman Chemical, Kingsport, Tenn.2
- 2021-04Convicted after a 13-day jury trial2
- 2022-05-09Sentenced to 168 months and a $200,000 fine2
- 2023-07-116th Cir. affirms convictions, vacates sentence (intended-loss error), remands1
- 2024On remand, district court sets intended loss at $30,450,000 (down from $121.8M); resentencing set for Sept 16, 20243
- 2024-09-16Resentenced; 168 months reinstated (press report)4
Verified facts
- The trade secrets covered BPA-free coatings for the inside of beverage cans and cost nearly $120 million to develop, per DOJ.2
- The owners were Akzo-Nobel, BASF, Dow Chemical, PPG, Toyochem, Sherwin Williams, and Eastman.2
- She and Weihai Jinhong Group received Chinese government grants, including a Thousand Talents Plan award.2
- Docket: United States v. You, No. 2:19-cr-00014 (E.D. Tenn.).3
Editorial notes
- The resentencing outcome rests on WCYB (local TV) as a secondary source. Before publishing, pull the amended judgment from PACER (spending on hold) or wait for RECAP.
Sources
- https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/23a0148p-06.pdf · Wayback
- https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/chemist-sentenced-stealing-trade-secrets-economic-espionage-and-wire-fraud · Wayback
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-tned-2_19-cr-00014/pdf/USCOURTS-tned-2_19-cr-00014-11.pdf · no archive snapshot yet
- https://wcyb.com/news/local/chinese-born-us-citizen-gets-14-years-for-stealing-trade-secrets-from-eastman-coca-cola · Wayback