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A Federal Grand Jury has indicted Hongjin Tan of Bartlesville.  Public Information Officer for U. S. Attorney Brent Shores made the announcement on Thursday.  

 

The 35 year-old Tan is charged with stealing trade secrets pertaining to methods for developing a particular Research and Development Downstream Energy Market Product; and knowingly possessing, duplicating, and transmitting the trade secrets to persons other than the trade secrets’ owner without permission.  

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Dallas Customs and Border Protection investigated the incident once it came to light.  The investigation was prompted after Tan turned in notice that he was leaving his employment at the Phillips Research Center in Bartlesville to return to his home in China where he had been offered a job with a firm there.

 

The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.