The accusations against former Google engineer Linvei Dean have been expanded by the US prosecutor’s office, with 14 additional charges of theft of trade secrets and economic espionage in favor of two Chinese companies that Dean secretly worked for. The investigation, which began in 2019, found that Dean had downloaded over 1000 files containing sensitive information about Google’s TPU chips, GPU software, and Smartnic network infrastructure to his personal cloud account between May 2022 and May 2023.
While working at Google, Dean was also involved in secret collaborations with two Chinese tech companies. He was in negotiations for a technical director position at a startup in June 2022 and had founded his own company in China by May 2023, focusing on AI developments. The investigation alleges that Dean was acting in the interests of the Chinese government, as evidenced by his presentations aligning with China’s national AI development strategies.
Despite Dean’s actions, Google is not a defendant in the case and has cooperated with the investigation. Dean is currently out on bail and discussions for a possible pre-trial settlement took place at a hearing in December 2024. However, prosecutors indicate that the case is likely to go to court for resolution.
If found guilty, the 38-year-old Dean could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of trade secrets theft, as well as up to 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine for each economic espionage charge. The sentencing decision will ultimately lie with a federal judge, who will consider the recommendations of the American trials. Link