U.S. district judge Stephanie Rose sentenced Mo Hailong, a Chinese national also known as Robert Mo, to three years in prison for conspiracy to steal trade secrets, the Justice Department announced. Mo took part in the theft of hybrid seed corn, developed by Monsanto and Pioneer, for shipment to a Chinese conglomerate that owns a corn seed subsidiary.
“The theft of agricultural trade secrets, and other intellectual property, poses a grave threat to our national economic security,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin VanderSchel. The investigation by the FBI was triggered in 2011 when a Pioneer field manager found Mo digging in a test plot, said the Des Moines Register. Mo was arrested at the end of 2013.
As part of his sentence, Mo must forfeit two farms in Iowa and Illinois that were used by him and his associates in a conspiracy to steal seed corn, said the government. He also will be required to pay restitution. The amount will be set at the end of his prison term.