Lansing chemist convicted of stealing $120 million in trade secrets for Chinese company

A Lansing chemist was convicted Thursday of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Xiaorong You, also known as Shannon You, was convicted after a 12-day trial of stealing trade secrets from Coca-Cola and Eastman Chemical Co. when she worked there, according to a DOJ press release. 

You stole trade secrets related to information about BPA-free coatings for the inside of beverage cans and set up her own BPA-free coating company in China, according to the DOJ news release. The stolen trade secrets cost nearly $120 million to develop. 

You and her Chinese corporate partner, Weihai Jinhong Group, received millions of dollars in government grants in China to support the new company, according to the release. 

BPA is used to coat the inside of cans and containers to help minimize flavor loss and stop the container from reacting with the food or beverage inside, according to the DOJ release. But once potential health risks from BPA became known, companies developed BPA-free alternatives, which was a "very expensive and time-consuming process," according to the release. 

You worked at Coca-Cola from December 2012 through August 2017 as a principal engineer for global research and at Eastman Chemical Co. from September 2017 to June 2018. She was one of a limited number of employees with access to the BPA-free trade secrets at both companies. 

You worked as a principle engineer at XG Sciences in Lansing from August 2018 to the time of her arrest in February 2019, according to court records. 

You was convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud.

She is set to be sentenced in November. 

Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.