Former HTC executive charged after leaking company secrets

December 27, 2013

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Former HTC vice president of design, Thomas Chien, was today charged with leaking company secrets along with five other former HTC employees. Chien leaked the design of a smartphone that has not been released yet, and was allegedly set to start a company using the information with a number of unidentified individuals in Beijing.

Along with being charged for leaking company secrets, Chien and the other five former HTC employees were also charged with breach of trust after receiving around 33.57 million New Taiwan dollars, or US$1.12 million, in kickbacks from suppliers and falsified expenses. Three unidentified individuals from suppliers were also charged with breach of trust.

The charges come after HTC filed a complaint against Chien and two others after they leaked sensitive company information. The charges of breach of trust and leaking company secrets each come with a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Christian de Looper Author

Christian was born and raised in Canberra, Australia, lived for 5 years in Paris, France, and is currently living in the USA. He spends much of his time playing with his Android devices and researching new and improved technology. When Christian isn't writing for TalkAndroid, he normally can be found in a music studio producing either his own music or someone else's.