Xiaolang Zhang, a former engineer employed at Apple (AAPL), has pled guilty to stealing trade secrets from the consumer technology giant while working on a self-driving car project from 2015 to 2018.
Zhang left Apple to work for Chinese electric vehicle start-up Xpeng (XPEV).
During an internal investigation, Apple determined that Zhang transferred 24GB of confidential data to his wife’s laptop and took circuit boards and a server from Apple’s self-driving car laboratory.
Zhang pled guilty to the single theft of trade secrets count listed in his indictment. A conference call to determine his sentencing is scheduled for November 14 of this year.
According to American law, theft of trade secrets comes with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, and Zhang could also face a $250,000 U.S. fine.
Zhang is not the only person who’s been accused of stealing trade secrets from Apple, or of trying to transfer sensitive materials to Chinese start-up Xpeng.
In 2019, another former Apple employee was charged with trying to smuggle manuals, diagrams, and photographs from Apple’s car project to China. His case is still working its way through the courts.
Apple stock is down 8% this year and trading at $167.57 U.S. per share.
Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) has also claimed that a former employee took source codes related to its autopilot system and gave them to Xpeng.
Despite working on the project for several years, Apple has not yet announced a self-driving car.
