After a lengthy legal process spanning back to 2018, the California district court has reached a verdict in Xiaolang Zhang’s case.
The former Apple employee has been sentenced to 4 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Additionally, Zhang has been ordered to pay $146,984 in damages.
The case originated from a collaborative effort between the FBI and Apple, initiated in 2018. Investigations revealed that Zhang had allegedly stolen sensitive trade secrets related to Apple’s Project Titan, the company’s forthcoming smart EV project.
Following his departure from Apple, Zhang returned to China and joined XMotors, a Chinese startup specializing in autonomous vehicle technologies. It was during this period that Apple became suspicious of Zhang’s actions and commenced legal proceedings.
Substantial evidence of Zhang’s misconduct emerged from his network activity at Apple, as well as from his Apple devices. During his time at Apple, Zhang had been involved in engineering various aspects of Project Titan.
Having pleaded guilty, Zhang is now set to begin serving his sentence as determined by the court.