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Southern District of Ohio 

In the Matter of the Search of 

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APPLICATION FOR A SEARCH WARRANT 

I, a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the government, request a search warrant and state under 

penalty of perjury that I have reason to believe that on the following person or property (identify the person or describe the 

property to be searched and give its location): 

SEE THE ATTACHED AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION, AND ATTACHMENT A THERETO IN 

PARTICULAR, ALL OF WHICH IS INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. located in the Northern District of California , there is now concealed (identify the 

person or describe the property to be seized): 

SEE THE ATTACHED AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION, AND ATTACHMENT B THERETO IN 

PARTICULAR, ALL OF WHICH IS INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. 

The basis for the search under Fed. R. Crim. P. 4l(c) is (check one or more): 

~evidence of a crime; 

~contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed; 

r£ property designed for use, intended for use, or used in committing a crime; 

0 a person to be arrested or a person who is unlawfully restrained. 

The search is related to a violation of: 

Theft of Trade Secrets Offense Description 

The application is based on these facts: 

See attached affidavit incorporated herein by reference. 

i'1f Continued on the attached sheet. 

0 Delayed notice of __ days (give exact ending date if more than 30 days: _ ____ ) is requested 

undoc 18 U.S.C. § 3103a, the basis of which is set forth on ttach~ 

Applicant's signature 

Steven E. Mccann, SA FBI 

Sworn to before me and signed in my presence. 

Date: {)t d ~ dJ /C?. r"/\j ~) u 

City and state: Columbus, Ohio 

Case: 2:18-mj-00490-KAJ Doc #: 1 Filed: 06/26/18 Page: 1 of 26 PAGEID #: 1
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO 

EASTERN DIVISION '" I; r ·. 

In the matter of the search of information 

associated with yuzhou414@gmail.com that 

is stored at premises controlled by Google, 

Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, 

Mountain View, CA 94043 

Case No. 2: 18 mj4 9 0 

Filed Under Seal 

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF 

AN APPLICATION FOR A SEARCH WARRANT 

I, Special Agent Steven E. McCann, being first duly sworn, hereby depose and state as 

follows: 

I. INTRODUCTION 

1. As set forth in detail below, an investigation into the theft of trade secrets 

(intellectual property and proprietary research data) from Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH), 

specifically by two former NCH employees, Yu Zhou and Li Chen, has been ongoing since January 

2018. The facts herein establish probable cause to believe Yu Zhou and Li Chen conspired with 

each other to steal trade secrets belonging to NCH, their former employer, in violation of Title 18 

U.S.C. § 1832, Theft of Trade Secrets. 

2. Relevant here, I make this affidavit in support of applications for a search warrant 

for information associated with each of the below-listed accounts (the Subject Accounts) that is 

stored at premises controlled by Google, Inc. (Google or the Provider), an email provider 

headquartered at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, believing 

evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 are located within said 

Subject Accounts. The property or information to be searched is described in the following 

paragraphs and in Attachment A. This affidavit is made in support of an application for a search 

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warrant under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2703(a), 2703(b)(l)(A) and 2703(c)(l)(A) to require Google, Inc. to 

disclose to the United States copies of the information (including the content of communications) 

further described in Section I of Attachment B. Upon receipt of the information described in 

Section I of Attachment B, government-authorized persons will review that information to locate 

the items described in Section II of Attachment B. 

3. The Subject Accounts are as follows: 

A. The email account yuzhou414@gmail.com (Subject Acccount-1), created 

on or about 07/22/2011, subscribed to by Yu Zhou with recovery email 

address Genexosome@163.com, which account is maintained at premises 

controlled by Google, a company headquartered in Mountain View, 

California. 

B. The email account chenliandzhouyu@gmail.com (Subject Account-2), 

created on or about 09/15/2011, subscribed to by Li Chen with recovery 

email address Genexosome@l 63 .com, which is maintained at premises 

controlled by Google, a company headquartered in Mountain View, 

California. 

4. This affidavit is intended to show merely that there is sufficient probable cause for 

the requested warrant and does not set forth all of my knowledge about this matter. 

II. AGENT BACKGROUND 

5. I have been employed as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

(FBI) since March 2008, and I am currently assigned to the Cincinnati Division, Columbus 

Resident Agency, as a member of the Counterintelligence Squad. I am responsible for 

investigating, among other crimes, the theft of trade secrets. I have received both formal and 

informal training in the detection and investigation of said offense. As a result of my training and 

experience, I am familiar with the federal laws relating to the theft of trade secrets. I have 

participated in various investigations, including those with a foreign counterintelligence nexus. As 

a federal agent, I am authorized to investigate violations of the laws of the United States. 

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6. I have personally participated in the investigation described herein. I have reviewed 

the relevant documents and reports of witness interviews during the course of this investigation. 

The statements contained in this affidavit are based on my own observations, document reviews, 

and reliable information provided to me by other law enforcement officials. Because this affidavit 

is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause to search the Subject 

Accounts described below, I have not included each and every fact learned during the course of 

this investigation. Rather, I have set forth those facts that I believe are necessary to establish 

probable cause for the search warrant sought. Where actions, conversations, and statements of 

others are related, they are related in part, except where otherwise indicated. 

7. Based on my training and experience and the facts set forth in this affidavit, there 

is probable cause to believe that violations of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1832 have been committed by Yu 

Zhou and Li Chen. There is also probable cause to believe that fruits, evidence, and 

instrumentalities of these crimes in the form of electronic communications, as described in 

Attachment B, are located at the internet service provider, as described in Attachment A. 

III. JURISDICTION 

8. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2703(a), (b)(l)(A) & (c)(l)(A), the United States may 

require a provider of an electronic communications service or remote computing service, such as 

the Provider, to disclose all stored content and all non-content records or other information 

pertaining to subscribers, by obtaining a warrant issued using the procedures described in Federal 

Rule of Criminal Procedure 41. 

9. This Court has jurisdiction to issue the requested warrant because it is "a court of 

competent jurisdiction" as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 2711. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 2703(a), (b)(l)(A) & 

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(c)(l)(A). Specifically, the Court is "a district court of the United States ... that has jurisdiction 

over the offense being investigated." 18 U.S.C. § 2711(3)(A)(i). 

IV. APPLICABLE STATUTES AND DEFINITIONS 

10. Since January 2018 to the present, the FBI has been investigating Yu Zhou and Li 

Chen for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1832, and the investigation has determined that there is probable 

cause to believe that violations of U.S. laws have occurred. 

11. I am advised that 18 U.S.C. § 1832 provides in relevant part: 

(a) Whoever, with intent to convert a trade secret, that is related to a product or 

service used in or intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce, to the 

economic benefit of anyone other than the owner thereof, and intending or 

knowing that the offense will, injure any owner of that trade secret, 

knowingly-

(1) steals, or without authorization appropriates, takes, carries away, or 

conceals, or by fraud, artifice, or deception obtains such information; 

(2) without authorization copies, duplicates, sketches, draws, photographs, 

downloads, uploads, alters, destroys, photocopies, replicates, 

transmits, delivers, sends, mails, communicates, or conveys such 

information; 

shall, except as provided in subsection (b ), be fined under this title or imprisoned 

not more than 10 years, or both. 

12. I am further advised that the term "trade secret" is defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1839(3) 

as follows: 

[T]he term ''trade secret" means all forms and types of financial, business, 

scientific, technical, economic, or engineering information, including 

patterns, plans, compilations, program devices, formulas, designs, 

prototypes, methods, techniques, processes, procedures, programs, or codes, 

whether tangible or intangible, and whether or how stored, compiled, or 

memorialized physically, electronically, graphically, photographically, or in 

writing if-

(A) the owner thereof has taken reasonable measures to keep such 

information secret; and 

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(B) the information derives independent economic value, actual or 

potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily 

ascertainable through proper means by, another person who can obtain 

economic value from the disclosure or use of the information. 

13. I am further advised that the elements of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 are: (a) 

the defendant intended to convert a trade secret to the economic benefit of anyone other than the 

owner; (b) the information was, in fact, a trade secret; ( c) the defendant knowingly stole, or without 

authorization appropriated, took, carried away, or concealed, or by fraud, artifice, or deception 

obtained the trade secret; (d) the defendant intended, or knew, the offense would injure the owner 

of the trade secret; and (e) the trade secret was related to or included in a product that is produced 

for or placed in interstate or foreign commerce. See 18 U.S.C. § 1832(a)(l ); see also United States 

v. Howley, 707 F.3d 575, 579 (6th Cir. 2013); United States v. Hsu, 155 F.3d 189, 195-96 (3d Cir. 

1998). 

V. BACKGROUND INFORMATION REGARDING EMAIL AND GOOGLE 

14. In my training and experience, I have learned that Google provides a variety of online services, including electronic mail (email) access, to the public. Google allows subscribers to 

obtain email accounts at the domain name gmail.com, like the email Subject Accounts. 

Subscribers obtain an account by registering with Google. During the registration process, Google 

asks subscribers to provide basic personal information. Therefore, the computers of Google are 

likely to contain stored electronic communications (including retrieved and unretrieved email for 

Google subscribers) and information concerning subscribers and their use of Google services, such 

as account access information, email transaction information, and account application information. 

In my training and experience, such information may constitute evidence of the crimes under 

investigation because the information can be used to identify the account's user or users. 

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15. In addition to emails, a Google subscriber can also store files with provider, such 

as address books, contact or buddy lists, calendar data, pictures (other than ones attached to 

emails), and other files, on servers maintained and/or owned by Google. In my training and 

experience, evidence of who was using an email account may be found in address books, contact 

or buddy lists, email in the account, and attachments to emails, including pictures and files. 

16. In my training and experience, email providers generally ask their subscribers to 

provide certain personal identifying information when registering for an email account. Such 

information can include the subscriber's full name, physical address, telephone numbers and other 

identifiers, alternative email addresses, and, for paying subscribers, means and source of payment 

(including any credit or bank account number). In my training and experience, such information 

may constitute evidence of the crimes under investigation because the information can be used to 

identify the account's user or users. Based on my training and experience, I know that, even if 

subscribers insert false information to conceal their identity, this information often provides clues 

to their identity, location, or illicit activities. 

17. In my training and experience, email providers typically retain certain transactional 

information about the creation and use of each account on their systems. This information can 

include the date on which the account was created, the length of service, records of log-in (i.e., 

session) times and durations, the types of service utilized, the status of the account (including 

whether the account is inactive or closed), the methods used to connect to the account (such as 

logging into the account via the particular provider's website), and other log files that reflect usage 

of the account. In addition, email providers often have records of the Internet Protocol address (IP 

address) used to register the account and the IP addresses associated with particular logins to the 

account. Because every device that connects to the Internet must use an IP address, IP address 

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information can help to identify which computers or other devices were used to access the email 

account. 

18. In my training and experience, in some cases, email account users will 

communicate directly with an email service provider about issues relating to the account, such as 

technical problems, billing inquiries, or complaints from other users. Email providers typically 

retain records about such communications, including records of contacts between the user and the 

provider's support services, as well as records of any actions taken by the provider or user as a 

result of the communications. In my training and experience, such information may constitute 

evidence of the crimes under investigation because the information can be used to identify the 

account's user or users. 

19. As explained herein, information stored in connection with an email account may 

provide crucial evidence of the ''who, what, why, when, where, and how" of the criminal conduct 

under investigation, thus enabling the United States to establish and prove each element or, 

alternatively, to exclude the innocent from further suspicion. In my training and experience, the 

information stored in connection with an email account can indicate who has used or controlled 

the account. This "user attribution" evidence is analogous to the search for "indicia of occupancy" 

while executing a search warrant at a residence. For example, email communications, contact lists, 

and images sent (and the data associated with the foregoing, such as date and time) may indicate 

who used or controlled the account at a relevant time. Further, information maintained by the 

email provider can show how and when the account was accessed or used. For example, as 

described below, email providers typically log the IP addresses from which users access the email 

account, along with the time and date of that access. By determining the physical location 

associated with the logged IP addresses, investigators can understand the chronological and 

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geographic context of the email account access and use relating to the crime under investigation. 

This geographic and timeline information may tend to either inculpate or exculpate the account 

owner. Additionally, information stored at the user's account may further indicate the geographic 

location of the account user at a particular time (e.g., location information integrated into an image 

or video sent via email). Stored electronic data might also provide relevant insight into the email 

account owner's state of mind as it relates to the offense under investigation. For example, 

information in the email account may indicate the owner's motive and intent to commit a crime 

(e.g., communications relating to the crime), or consciousness of guilt (e.g., deleting 

communications in an effort to conceal them from law enforcement). 

20. Google Plus (stylized as Google+) is an internet-based social network owned and 

operated by Google. The following paragraphs detail the features and functions associated with 

Google Plus social networking accounts. 

A. User Profile: A Google Plus user profile is a publicly visible account of a 

user that is attached to many Google properties. The user profile includes 

basic social networking services like a profile photo, about section, 

background photo, cover photo, previous work and school history, interests, 

places lived and an area to post status updates. 

B. Circles: Circles enables a user to organize people into groups or lists for 

sharing across various Google products and services. Organization of 

Circles is done through a "drag and drop" interface. Once a Circle is 

created, a Google Plus user can share specific private content to only that 

circle. 

C. Stream: Within the Stream section, Google Plus users see updates from 

those in their Circles. There is an input box which allows users to enter a 

post. Along with the text field there are icons to upload and share photos 

and videos. 

D. Privacy: The privacy setting allows Google Plus users to disclose certain 

information to the circles of their choice. Users can also see their profile 

visitors. 

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21. Google Plus also retains IP logs for a given user ID or IP address. These logs may 

contain information about the actions taken by the user ID or IP address on Google Plus, including 

information about the type of action, the date and time of the action, and the user ID and IP address 

associated with the action. For example, if a user views a Google Plus profile, that user's IP log 

would reflect the fact that the user viewed the profile, and would show when and from what IP 

address the user did so. 

22. Social networking providers like Google Plus typically retain additional 

information about their user's accounts, such as information about the length of service (including 

start date), the types of service utilized, and the means and source of any payments associated with 

the service (including any credit card or bank account number). In some cases, Google Plus users 

may communicate directly with Google about issues relating to their account(s), such as technical 

problems, billing inquiries, or complaints from other users. Social networking providers like 

Google Plus typically retain records about such communications, including records of contacts 

between the user and the provider's support services, as well as records of any actions taken by 

the provider or user as a result of the communication. 

23. Therefore, the computers of Google are likely to contain all the material just 

described, including stored electronic communications and information concerning subscribers 

and their use of Google Plus, such as account access information, transaction information, and 

account application. 

24. Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google. 

Google Drive allows users to store files on their servers, synchronize files across devices and share 

files. Google Drive offers users 15 gigabytes of free storage with virtually unlimited storage space 

through an optional paid plan. Digital files uploaded can be up to 5 terabytes in size. 

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25. Google Drive users have the ability to upload any digital file to Google Drive for 

data retention and data backup. Google Drive users have the ability to access content from their 

Google Drive account from any device connected to the internet, including computers, tablets, 

Android smartphones or iPhones. 

26. Based on training and experience, Gmail, Google Plus, and Google Drive, as well 

as other Google products, can all be backed up and synchronized with each other. The back-up 

and synchronization process creates additional copies of digital files in multiple locations for ease 

of access and to secure data from accidental deletion. 

27. This application seeks a warrant to search all responsive records and information 

under the control of Google, which is a provider subject to the jurisdiction of this court, regardless 

of where Google has chosen to store such information. The United States intends to require the 

disclosure pursuant to the requested warrant of the contents of wire or electronic communications 

and any records or other information pertaining to the customers or subscribers if such 

communication, record, or other information is within Google's possession, custody, or control, 

regardless of whether such communication, record, or other information is stored, held, or 

maintained outside the United States. 

VI. INVESTIGATION AND PROBABLE CAUSE 

A. Relevant Individuals and Entities 

28. Yu Zhou (ZHOU) is a naturalized U.S. Citizen, the co-founder and CEO of 

GENEXOSOME TECHNOLOGIES, INC., and a former employee of Nationwide Children's 

Hospital (NCH), which is located in Columbus, Ohio. ZHOU worked for NCH as a researcher in 

the lab of Dr. Gail Besner. Dr. Besner's lab was focused on, among other topics, the research of 

exosomes (which are described in more detail below), and specifically with respect to intestinal 

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issues in premature infants. ZHOU was the longest tenured lab member until he resigned in 2017. 

He worked in Dr. Besner's lab from 2007 until 2017. ZHOU is the spouse of Li Chen. 

29. Li Chen (CHEN) is a naturalized U.S. Citizen and former employee of NCH. 

CHEN worked for NCH as a researcher in the lab of Dr. David Brigstock. Dr. Brigstock's lab was 

focused on, among other topics, the research of exosomes with respect to liver fibrosis. CHEN 

resigned from NCH in 2018. CHEN worked at NCH from 2008 until 2018. CHEN is the spouse 

of ZHOU. 

30. During ZHOU's and CHEN's tenures, both Dr. Besner's and Dr. Brigstock's 

respective labs focused on and utilized scientific developments with respect to exosomes in 

research. An October 30, 2017, press release regarding Avalon GloboCare Corp., Beijing Jiteng 

Biotechnology Co. LTD., and Genexosome Technologies, Inc., which are three of the entities 

related to this warrant application, defines exosomes as: ''tiny, subcellular, membrane-bound 

vesicles[] measur[ing] 30-150 nm in diameter that are released by almost all cell types." The press 

release further notes that "[e]xosomes can carry membraned and cellular proteins, as well as 

genetic materials that are representative of cell origin. Profiling various bio-molecules in 

exosomes may serve as useful biomarkers for a wide variety of diseases." 

31. Beijing Jiteng Biotechnology Co. LTD. (BEIJING GENEXOSOME) is a Limited 

Liability Corporation established in Beijing, China in 2015 by ZHOU and CHEN. According to 

a press release from October 2017, and to corresponding Securities and Exchange Commission 

filings, BEIJING GENEXOSOME is engaged in the development of exosome technology to 

improve diagnosis and management of diseases. BEIJING GENEXOSOME produces research 

kits that are designed to be used by researchers for biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostic 

development, as well as for the advancement of targeted therapies. Currently, BEIJING 

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GENEXOSOME's research kits and services are available for purchase, and the kits can be used 

to isolate exosomes or extract exosomal RNA/protein from serum/plasma, urine and saliva 

samples. These research kits are advertised to increase the yield and purity of such samples, as 

well as to isolate exosomes with intact membranes. This is important, especially in the research 

of diseases affecting premature babies, where the sample sizes are extremely small in volume. As 

part of its business, BEIJING GENEXOSOME is also seeking to decode proteomic and genomic 

alterations underlying a wide range of pathologies, thus allowing for the introduction of novel, 

non-invasive "liquid biopsies." Its mission is focused toward diagnostic advancements in the 

fields of oncology, infectious diseases and fibrotic diseases, and discovery of disease-specific 

exosomes, all of which would provide disease-origin insight necessary to enable personalized 

clinical management. 

32. ZHOU is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GENEXOSOME 

TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (GENEXOSOME TECH). GENEXOSOME TECH is a Foreign ForProfit Corporation according to State of Ohio business records. State of Ohio business records 

also indicate that, in November 2017, ZHOU registered GENEXOSOME TECH at the following 

addresses: a principal office located at 4400 Route 9 South, Suite 3100, Freehold, New Jersey 

07728, and an Ohio office located at 168 Dorchester Square, Suite 101, Westerville, Ohio 43081. 

GENEXOSOME TECH' s website indicates that the company is a leading biotechnology company 

focused on the development of exosome-based diagnostic and therapeutic products. Also, 

according to GENEXOSOME TECH's website, the company was co-founded in the United States 

by Avalon GloboCare Corp. and Dr. Yu Zhou, a clinical scientist who has spent more than 10 

years on exosome research and clinical utilization of exosomes products. The website further 

states that their proprietary Exosome Isolation System has proven to be a cutting-edge technology, 

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as it greatly enhances exosome isolation efficiency and exosome quality. The company, according 

to the website, also develops proprietary exosome isolation systems, promotes implementation of 

exosome biotechnology in "liquid biopsy" and targeted therapies, and provides the global market 

with innovative exosome products for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, 

GENEXOSOME's website states it has U.S. operations in New Jersey and Ohio, in addition to 

overseas operations in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan in China. 

33. BEIJEING GENOXOSOME and GENEXOSOME TECH are related entities. 

Avalon GloboCare Corp. (AVALON) is a U.S. Corporation based out of Freehold, New Jersey. 

According to AV ALON' s website, the company is a premiere healthcare management provider 

and biotechnology developer, dedicated to integrating and managing global healthcare resources, 

empowering high-impact biomedical innovation and technologies, as well as to engaging in bioventure investment. The co-founder and current CEO of AVALON is Dr. David Jin. According 

to the State of Nevada business records, AVALON formed GENEXOSOME TECH in July 2017. 

This GENEXOSOME TECH is the same entity described in the previous paragraph. The records 

further indicate Dr. David Jin as the CEO of GENEXOSOME TECH. According to information 

contained in a press release from October 2017, AV ALON announced that its majority-owned 

subsidiary, GENEXOSOME TECH, acquired 100% of the outstanding capital stock of BEIJING 

GENEXOSOME. Concurrently, GENEXOSOME entered into and closed an Asset Purchase 

Agreement with ZHOU, CEO of BEIJING GENEXOSOME, pursuant to which GENEXOSOME 

TECH acquired all assets, including intellectual property, patents and patent applications held by 

ZHOU pertaining to the business of researching, developing and commercializing exosome 

technologies. 

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B. Facts Establishing Probable Cause: Yu Zhou, Li Chen and GENEXOSOME 

TECH 

34. In the month following ZHOU's departure from NCH, multiple wire transfers were 

made from AVALON to ZHOU and CHEN's personal Chase bank account. The notable wire 

transfers are as follows: 

A. On or about 11/20/2017, AVALON transferred $499,000 to ZHOU and 

CHEN's Chase account; 

B. On or about 11/21/2017, AVALON transferred $200,000 to ZHOU and 

CHEN's Chase account; 

C. On or about 11/23/2017, AVALON transferred $100,000 to ZHOU and 

CHEN's Chase account; and 

D. On or about 11/27/2017, AVALON transferred $77,087 to ZHOU and 

CHEN's Chase account. 

35. In the month before receiving the above wire transfers, on or about October 8, 2017, 

ZHOU emailed his resignation to Dr. Besner, effective on or about November 10, 2017, with his 

last physical day in the lab being on or about October 27, 2017. This email was sent to Dr. Besner 

from ZHOU's NCH email account, Yu.Zhou@nationwidechildrens.org. 

36. In or around November 2017, NCH received an anonymous letter regarding the 

potential theft of intellectual property, misconduct and conflict of interest by two NCH employees, 

ZHOU and CHEN. The letter describes ZHOU as a research scientist in the lab of Dr. Besner, as 

well as being the CEO of GENEXOSOME TECH. The letter further describes CHEN as a research 

associate in Dr. Brigstock's lab. Furthermore, the letter addresses the fact that ZHOU and CHEN 

filed four patents in the People's Republic of China (PRC) on topics related to exosomes, miRNA, 

and liver diseases, all similar topics as those developed and researched in their respective NCH 

labs. The letter also described the selling of those four patents and all related intellectual property 

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from BEIJING GENEXOSOME to AV ALON and its now-U.S. subsidiary, GENEXOSOME 

TECH. 

37. The investigation to date has revealed that Dr. Besner, in her research lab at NCH, 

has developed a method for isolating exosomes from very tiny samples and then purifying those 

samples for research. Based on interviews of Dr. Besner, this method was borne out of necessity, 

given the fact that she works with and conducts research on premature babies and is unable to 

obtain large bodily fluid samples. This information has never been presented in a public forum and 

has not been published. Dr. Besner considers this method to be proprietary to her lab and NCH 

property. A review of the GENEXOSOME TECH website reveals a product for sale, called the 

"GETTM Exosome Isolation Kit." In a publicly available Avalon GloboCare press release, dated 

October 30, 2017, ZHOU discusses a proprietary exosome isolation system, where represents that 

he is able to capture exosomes from a tiny volume of bodily fluid. This product is similar to the 

method developed by Dr. Besner in her lab at NCH. 

C. Reasonable Measures to Protect Information 

38. Given the value placed on this research and information, NCH has taken reasonable 

measures to protect the information from unauthorized parties outside of the hospital. For 

example, NCH has placed the information on private servers, required badge access to research 

labs and required annual training regarding the protection of its information. 

39. To ensure employees are aware of NCH Policies and Procedures (P&P), NCH has 

employees review and sign an "Employee Handbook Acknowledgement" document during newemployee onboarding. The employee handbook refers to all NCH P&P, and by signing the 

handbook the employee acknowledges that she or he will be bound by all NCH policies. All NCH 

policies are available at any time online to all employees. In addition, NCH has new employees 

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review and sign several other documents, to include: I) Nationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. 

Confidentiality and Security Agreement; and 2) Certification Related To Nationwide Children's 

Corporate Integrity Program. ZHOU signed these documents on February 26, 2007 and CHEN 

signed these documents on January 8, 2008. 

40. NCH reinforced the importance of safeguarding and protecting this information 

was through initial and periodic training, to include, but not limited to: "Case Study - Data 

Management 'Who Owns Research Data?'," and "Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) 

Course Introduction and Research Misconduct," which ZHOU and CHEN both completed. NCH 

also has a banner on their computers notifying all employees that NCH is allowed to monitor all 

employee computer activity. The banner reads as follows: 

A. This is a restricted network. Any person or system gaining unauthorized 

access will be subject to prosecution. Nationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. 

computer systems are to be used for business purposes only. Nationwide 

Children's Hospital Inc., reserves the right to monitor, audit and investigate 

any inappropriate use of its systems. Unauthorized or improper use of this 

system may result in administrative disciplinary action and or civil or 

criminal penalties. By continuing to use this system you indicate your 

awareness of and consent to the Terms and conditions of use. Discontinue 

use of this computer immediately if you do not agree to the conditions stated 

in this warning. 

D. Use of External Email Accounts 

41. The investigation to date has also revealed that, as of May 23, 2018, ZHOU and 

CHEN forwarded at least 30 emails to and/or from their NCH email accounts to multiple external 

email accounts. Those accounts are as follows: yuzhou414@gmail.com, 

chenliandzhouyu@gmail.com, joe@genexo-tech.com and genexosome@l 63.com. The latter two 

email accounts,joe@genexo-tech.com and genexosome@163.com, are hosted overseas on servers 

located in China. Relevant to this affidavit, the representative examples below demonstrate that 

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ZHOU and CHEN sent and received emails from and to the Subject Accounts regarding NCH, 

GENEXOSOME TECH, and matters related to exosomes. 

42. On or about February 8, 2017, CHEN emailed chenliandzhouyu@gmail.com an 

email with two attachments. The attachments were labeled: "Biogenesis and secretion of 

exosomes.pdf' and "Biogenesis, Secretion, and Intercellular Interactions of exosomes and other 

Extracellular Vesicles.pdf." CHEN utilized her NCH email account, 

Li.Chen@nationwidechildrens.org, to send this information. Based on interviews/investigation to 

date, NCH did consider and still considers the information in these attachments confidential and 

proprietary. 

43. On or about July 14, 2017, CHEN utilized her NCH email account, 

Li.Chen@nationwidechildrens.org, to email chenliandzhouyu@gmail.com, copying 

yuzhou44@gmail.com. The email attached a Word document quoting language from NCH policy 

concern the ownership of intellectual property. The language included the following provisions: 

A. "As stated in the hospital policy, all technical discoveries, inventions, and 

non-academic work authored, developed, or invented by any person 

employed by Nationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. or its subsidiaries or by 

those using its facilities, is considered property of the hospital. An inventor 

is defined as any member of the medical staff of Nationwide Children's 

Hospital and/or OSU faculty member using the facilities at Nationwide 

Children's Hospital. This definition also encompasses all employees of 

Nationwide Children's Hospital during their regular course of employment, 

those engaged in activities involving research or clinical investigation, all 

house staff, appointees, professional students, consultants and other 

personnel engaged in basic or applied research, testing activities or service 

programs at the institution." 

B. "Patents and copyrights issued or acquired as a result of or in connection 

with administration, research, or other educational activities conducted by 

members ofNationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. and supported directly or 

indirectly by funds administered by Nationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. 

or The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, regardless of 

the source of such funds, and all royalties or other revenues derived 

therefrom shall be the property of Nationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. 

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Nationwide Children's Hospital, Inc. reserves the right to retain, assign, 

license, transfer, sell or otherwise dispose of, in whole or in part, any and 

all rights to, interests in, or income from any such discoveries, inventions 

or patents, except in cases of sponsored research projects where the terms 

of the research contract specifically require the assignment of patent or other 

rights to the sponsor." 

44. On or about August 24, 2017, CHEN emailed genexosome@l 63 .com an email with 

a PowerPoint presentation attached named "Figure-myography.pptx." CHEN utilized her NCH 

email account, Li.Chen@nationwidechildrens.org, to send this information. Based on 

interviews/investigation to date, this attachment is identified as a graph depicting the analysis of 

research data, all of which NCH did consider and still considers confidential and proprietary. 

45. On or about August 25, 2017, CHEN sent chenliandzhouyu@gmail.com an email 

with an attachment labeled, "recommendation letter (Dr. David Jin).docx." CHEN utilized her 

NCH email account, Li.Chen@nationwidechildrens.org, to send this email. 

46. On or about August 25, 2017, ZHOU sent chenliandzhouyu@gmail.com an email 

with the subject line of"Fw: weekly update" and an attachment labeled, "Figure-myography.pptx." 

ZHOU utilized his NCH email account, Yu.Zhou@nationwidechildrens.com, to send this email. 

47. On or about November 20, 2017, CHEN emailed joe@genexo-tech.com an email 

with a subject line of"report ofXY test" and an attachment labeled "XYl test 2017-11-20 15-40-

00-ExperimentReport. pdf." CHEN utilized her NCH email account, 

Li.Chen@nationwidechildrens.org, to send this email. Based on interviews/investigation to date, 

this attachment is identified as a report of test results regarding male mice in the lab of Dr. 

Brigstock. NCH did consider and still considers this research data to be confidential and 

proprietary. 

48. On or about November 21, 2017, CHEN emailed joe@genexo-tech.com an email 

with a subject line of "TEM" and it included four attachments labeled: "sample 1 45k-1.tif," 

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"sample 2 50k-l.tif," "sample 5 50k-4.tif," and "sample 5 50k-5.tif." CHEN utilized her NCH 

email account, Li.Chen@nationwidechildrens.org, to forward this information. Based on 

interviews/investigation to date, these attachments are identified as images of exosomes. These 

images are part of a larger research data set that is currently ongoing at NCH, has not yet been 

published or made public, and was funded by NIH grants. NCH did consider and still considers 

this information confidential and proprietary. 

E. Summary 

49. The above referenced attachments include images of exosomes captured utilizing 

highly sophisticated, scientific equipment belonging to NCH, as well as graphs, charts and 

documents depicting exosomes, to include analysis of ongoing or past research, all funded by 

National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, with work being conducted on NCH property and with 

NCH resources. 

50. Images and research data similar to those sent as attachments in the above 

referenced emails have appeared on marketing materials for GENEXOSOME TECH products. 

The referenced product marketing materials are publicly available on the GENEXOSOME TECH 

website. 

51. The above identified emails and each of their accompanying attachments pertain to 

the same subject areas as the work being conducted by GENEXOSOME TECH, as well as the 

products GENEXOSOME TECH markets and sells. The information identified in several of the 

email attachments is proprietary and highly marketable scientific information developed and 

derived from NIH grant funding at NCH. The emails, as well as the above information regarding 

BEIJING GENEXOSOME and GENEXOSOME TECH, and the payments to ZHOU and CHEN, 

provide probable cause that ZHOU and CHEN took this proprietary information from NCH with 

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the intention of profiting from such information in the creation and sales of related and derivative 

products. 

52. Based upon the foregoing, I respectfully submit there is probable cause to believe 

that information stored on the Provider's servers associated with the Subject Accounts will contain 

evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of the Subject Offense, 18 U .S.C. § 1832, as more fully 

described in Section II of Attachment B. 

53. In particular, I believe the Subject Accounts are likely to contain, among other 

things, the following information: 

A. Evidence of the identity or identities of the user(s) of the Subject Accounts; 

B. Evidence of downloading, replicating, transmitting, or delivering research 

conducted at NCH to personal email accounts; 

C. Evidence of the identities and locations of co-conspirators in the Subject 

Offense, including photographs, images, and communications with such 

individuals; 

D. Evidence of participation in the Subject Offense by the user(s) of the 

Subject Accounts and others, including records relating to financial 

transactions in furtherance of the Subject Offense; and 

E. Evidence related to banks and other financial institutions at which the 

user(s) of the Subject Accounts conduct business, including potential 

transactions in furtherance of the Subject Offense. 

VII. CONCLUSION 

54. The evidence stated herein establishes probable cause to believe that ZHOU and 

CHEN have violated U.S. law regarding Title 18 U.S.C. § 1832, Theft of Trade Secrets. There is 

further probable cause to believe that evidence, fruits, and instrumentalities of this crime will be 

found on the premises of Google Inc., as described above and attached. Based on the forgoing, I 

request that the Court issue the proposed search warrant. Because the warrant will be served on 

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Google, who will then compile the requested records at a time convenient to it, reasonable cause 

exists to permit the execution of the requested warrant at any time in the day or night. 

VIII. REQUEST FOR SEALING 

55. I further request that the Court order that all papers in support of this application, 

including the affidavit and search warrant, be sealed until further order of the Court. These 

documents discuss an ongoing criminal investigation that is neither public nor known to all of the 

targets of the investigation. Accordingly, there is good cause to seal these documents because 

their premature disclosure may give targets an opportunity to flee/continue flight from prosecution, 

tamper with or destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior, notify confederates, or otherwise 

seriously jeopardize the investigation. Resa:wSteven E. McCann 

Special Agent 

Federal Bureau oflnvestigation 

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ATTACHMENT A 

Property to Be Searched 

This warrant applies to information associated with yuzhou414@gmail.com that is stored 

at premises owned, maintained, controlled, or operated by Google, Inc., a company headquartered 

at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043. 

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ATTACHMENT B 

Particular Things to be Seized 

I. Information to be disclosed by Google 

To the extent that the information described in Attachment A is within the possession, 

custody, or control of Google, Inc., regardless of whether such information is stored, held or 

maintained inside or outside of the United States, and including any emails, records, files, logs, or 

information that has been deleted but is still available to the Google, Inc., or has been preserved 

pursuant to a request made under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(f), Google is required to disclose the following 

information to the United States for each account or identifier listed in Attachment A. Such 

information should include the below-described content of the Subject Accounts() from January 

l, 2015 to the present. 

1. The contents of all emails, opened or unopened, associated with the Subject 

Accounts, including stored or preserved copies of emails sent to and from 

the account, draft emails, the source and destination addresses associated 

with each email, the date and time at which each email was sent, and the 

size and length of each email; 

2. Any deleted emails, including any information described in subparagraph 

"l ." above; 

3. All records or other information regarding the identification of the Subject 

Accounts, to include full name, physical address, telephone numbers and 

other identifiers, records of session times and durations, the date on which 

the account was created, the length of service, the IP address used to register 

the account, log-in IP addresses associated with session times and dates, 

account status, alternative email addresses provided during registration, 

methods of connecting, log files, and means and source of payment 

(including any credit or bank account number); 

4. All available IP history related to the Subject Account(s); 

5. The types of service utilized; 

6. All records or other information stored by an individual using the Google 

accounts, including address books, contact and buddy lists, calendar data, 

pictures, videos and files. In addition, please provide the photos and videos 

in their original file format, including EXIF information; 

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7. All records pertaining to communications between Google and any person 

regarding the account, including contacts with support services and records 

of actions taken; 

8. All Google chat archives stored on servers controlled by Google; 

9. All privacy settings and other account settings; and 

10. All records pertaining to any Circles in which the Google accounts listed in 

Attachment A participated, including communications and content shared 

with other individuals within such Circles, the other individuals within 

those Circles, and the account/subscriber information of the other 

individuals within those Circles. 

II. Information to be seized by the United States 

All information described above in Section I, including correspondence, records, 

documents, photographs, videos, electronic mail, chat logs, and electronic messages, that 

constitutes evidence of a crime, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed, or 

property designed for use, intended for use, or used in committing violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1832, 

including, for each account or identifier listed on Attachment A, information pertaining to the 

following matters, including attempting and conspiring to engage in the following matters: 

I. Credit card and other financial information including but not limited to bills 

and payment records; 

2. The identity of the person(s) who created or used the Subject Accounts, 

including records that help reveal the whereabouts of such person(s); 

3. Evidence indicating how and when the email account was accessed or used, 

to determine the geographic and chronological context of account access, 

use, and events relating to the crime under investigation and to the email 

account owner; 

4. Evidence indicating the email account owner's state of mind as it relates to 

the crime under investigation; 

5. Passwords and encryption keys, and other access information that may be 

necessary to access the account(s) or identifier(s) listed in Attachment B 

and other associated accounts; 

6. The identity of the person(s) who communicated with the user ID about 

matters relating to exosomes, GENEXOSOME TECH, BEIJING 

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GENEXOSOME, and/or AV ALON, including records that help reveal their 

whereabouts. 

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