New York Paralegal Blog

TRENTON—A former research chemist with global pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis (sanofi) was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for stealing sanofi’s trade secrets and making them available for sale through Abby Pharmatech Inc. (Abby), the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese chemicals company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SERGEY ALEYNIKOV, a former computer programmer at Goldman Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs”) was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 97 months in prison for stealing valuable, proprietary computer code of Goldman Sachs. A jury in Manhattan federal court previously found ALEYNIKOV guilty on December 10, 2010, of theft of trade secrets and interstate transportation of stolen property charges. U.S. District Judge DENISE L. COTE imposed the sentence on ALEYNIKOV. Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “Protecting the proprietary information of America’s companies is critically important. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that professionals like Sergey Aleynikov who abuse their positions of trust to steal confidential business information from their employers will be prosecuted and punished.”

CHICAGO—A former chemist for a northwest suburban paint manufacturing company was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison for stealing trade secrets involving numerous formulas and other proprietary information valued up to $20 million as he prepared to go to work for an overseas competitor. David Yen Lee, formerly a technical director in Valspar Corp.’s architectural coatings group since 2006, pleaded guilty in September to using his access to Valspar’s secure internal computer network to download approximately 160 original batch tickets, or secret formulas for paints and coatings. He also obtained raw materials information, chemical formulas and calculations, sales and cost data, and other internal memoranda, product research, marketing data, and other materials from Valspar’s offices in Wheeling. Lee, 54, formerly of Arlington Heights and currently of Jersey City, N.J., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, who also ordered mandatory restitution of $30,975 ...