Li Chen, Yu Zhou, Robo de secretos comerciales médicos, Los Ángeles CA, 2023

A federal judge has taken a hammer to the American dream, revoking the naturalized US citizenship of a married couple from Arkansas who conspired to steal medical trade secrets and share them with China.

Li Chen, 44, and his wife Yu Zhou, 40, of Little Rock, Arkansas, were found to have procured their naturalization illegally, according to a court order entered by Judge James E. Simmons Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on March 30.

The couple pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which the court determined constituted crimes involving moral turpitude that prevented them from having the good moral character necessary to naturalize.

The court also found that both Chen and Zhou were ineligible to naturalize because they committed unlawful acts that adversely reflected on their moral character for which there were no extenuating circumstances.

The case against Chen and Zhou began when they were charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets from an unnamed medical device company in Los Angeles. The investigation revealed that the couple had attempted to sell the stolen secrets to a Chinese company, but the details of the transactions were not disclosed.

The revocation of Chen and Zhou’s naturalized citizenship is a significant blow to their American dream, and a reminder that the federal government takes the theft of trade secrets very seriously. The case serves as a warning to individuals who attempt to compromise national security and steal intellectual property for the benefit of foreign powers.