Chinese Citizen Pleads Guilty to Stealing High-Tech Seeds From U.S. Fields

By Jacob Bunge 

A Chinese citizen pleaded guilty to stealing high-tech corn seeds from U.S. farm fields, in a case that drew attention for the government's rare use of a U.S. antispying law to prosecute alleged trade-secrets theft.

Mo Hailong, 46, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa to participating in a long-running plot to steal genetically pure corn seeds developed by U.S. agribusiness giants Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co. At the time of his arrest in December 2013, Mr. Mo, who has lived in the U.S. since 1998, was a director of international business for Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co., a Beijing-based agriculture company that runs a seed division.

The government alleged Mr. Mo was the U.S.-based ringleader of a group of several Chinese accomplices who cruised corn fields in Iowa and Illinois in search of seed company test fields, where they removed seeds and corn. The group later attempted to ship and smuggle seeds and corn kernels back to China, sometimes hidden inside boxes of Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn, according to U.S. authorities.

Mark Weinhardt, a lawyer representing Mr. Mo, who also goes by Robert Mo, said his client recently completed an "extensive and difficult" cancer treatment and by pleading guilty will "avoid the strain of a long and complex trial."

"This is a complicated case with many grey areas, legally and factually, but today Robert Mo takes complete responsibility for his unlawful conduct in this case," Mr. Weinhardt said in a statement. "Robert looks forward to getting this matter behind him and moving forward in life with his wife and children."

Representatives for Dabeinong couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

In pursuing the case against Mr. Mo and his alleged accomplices, U.S. government prosecutors said they planned to rely on evidence gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, a law designed to catch foreign government spies and terrorists.

Mr. Mo's case was the first known instance that the U.S. government said it would rely on the law to prosecute trade-secret theft charges. It came at a time when U.S. law-enforcement officials were examining potential corporate espionage targeting other U.S. agriculture companies.

Mr. Mo will be sentenced at a later date in Des Moines, Iowa, according to a statement Wednesday from the Justice Department. U.S. government prosecutors agreed as part of the plea deal not to seek a prison sentence longer than five years.

Since his arrest, Mr. Mo has been under house arrest in Des Moines, Iowa. As part of the plea deal, Mr. Mo will immediately forfeit parcels of farmland he owned in Illinois and Iowa, which the U.S. alleged were part of the corn-stealing scheme.

A Monsanto spokeswoman said the company "appreciates all of the efforts that have been taken by the U.S. Government to protect our intellectual property." A DuPont spokesman thanked U.S. officials and said the company "will continue to take aggressive steps to protect our intellectual property."

Write to Jacob Bunge at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2016 20:09 ET (01:09 GMT)

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