LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Federal prosecutors are urging a judge to give a Chinese national a prison term of almost five years when he’s sentenced in Los Angeles today for plotting to hack the computers of the Boeing Co. in order to steal trade secrets involving the C-17 military cargo transport.
Su Bin — who also used the names Stephen Su, Stephen Subin and Steven Subin — pleaded guilty in March to a federal charge of conspiracy to unlawfully access computers in the United States. Prosecutors argue in pre- sentencing papers that Su should receive 57 months in federal prison and pay a $100,000 fine.
A criminal complaint filed in 2014 and subsequent indictments charged Su, who ran a China-based aviation and aerospace company from Canada, for his role in the criminal conspiracy to steal military technical data relating to the C-17 strategic transport aircraft and certain fighter jets produced for the U.S. military.
Su was initially arrested at his home in British Columbia, Canada, in July 2014. He ultimately waived extradition and consented to be extradited to the United States in February.
In his plea agreement, Su admitted to conspiring with two others in China from October 2008 to March 2014 to gain unauthorized access to protected computer networks in the United States, including computers belonging to Boeing in Orange County to obtain sensitive military information and to export that information illegally to China.
Among Su’s targets were Boeing’s C-17, which was built in El Segundo, and the F-22 “Raptor” and F-35 “Lightning” fighter jets, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
According to court documents, Su traveled to the United States at least 10 times between 2008 and 2014 and worked with the two unidentified co- conspirators to steal the data.
Prosecutors said the trio attempted to sell the stolen military data to Chinese companies for financial gain. As part of the scheme, Su translated the data into Chinese.
“Su Bin admitted to playing an important role in a conspiracy, originating in China, to illegally access sensitive military data, including data relating to military aircraft that are indispensable in keeping our military personnel safe,” Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said.
Su’s plea agreement makes clear that the information he and his co- conspirators stole included data listed on the U.S. Munitions List contained in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, prosecutors said.
