www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/92018-dupont-industrial-espionage-case-ends-with-convictions
DuPont industrial espionage case ends with convictions
Information about the company's process for manufacturing titanium dioxide, which is used as a whitening ingredient, was stolen and sold to a Chinese company.
March 6, 2014
Two men accused of economic espionage have been convicted by federal jurors in San Francisco. Walter Liew, a California businessman, and Robert Maegerle, a former DuPont engineer, were convicted of stealing secrets relating to DuPont's process for manufacturing titanium dioxide, which is used as a whitener in Oreo cookies and other products. The secrets were sold to Pangang Group, a Chinese chemical company. Annual sales of titanium dioxide are estimated at $14 billion. Tze Chao, another former DuPont engineer who worked with Liew, pleaded guilty in 2012 to conspiracy to commit economic espionage and has yet to be sentenced.
