Xiaolang Zhang

thumb|240px|right|
Xiaolang Zhang is a former hardware engineer of Apple Inc. He was convicted of stealing trade secrets related to Apple's electric car project.Former Apple engineer accused of stealing automotive trade secrets pleads guilty by Kif Leswing, CNBC. 2022-08-22.
==Background==
Zhang was born in China. He married and relocated to San Jose, California, becoming a of the United States.Xiaolang Zhang biography: 13 things about ex-Apple hardware engineer from China by Conan Altatis, CONAN Daily. 2022-08-23.Apple has 'deep concerns' that ex-employees accused of theft will flee to China by Stephen Nellis, Reuters. 2019-12-09.
==Career==
Prior to working at Apple, Zhang had worked at , a chip supplier.
===Apple Inc.===
Zhang joined Apple in 2015 and became a hardware engineer on its autonomous vehicle project. He worked as part of the project's Compute Team, testing circuit boards for sensors. According to court documents, he was among employees that were required to attend in-person secrecy training. In April 2018, Zhang took paternity leave after the birth of his child, during which he had traveled to China. On April 27, Apple recorded notably increased network activity by Zhang, compared to his previous years of employment. On the following April 30th, he resigned from the company, stating that he wanted to be with his ill parent. He revealed that he was planning to join , a Chinese competitor. His termination from Apple became effective on May 5, 2018 and he started working for XPeng two days later.
===Investigation===
In June 2018, federal investigators came to Zhang's home to search the premises, they found a laptop hidden in a laundry hamper, containing trade secrets about Ethernet technology from Marvell Technology, Zhang's previous employer. About 24 GB of confidential data was discovered to have been transferred from Apple to his wife's laptop through AirDrop. His wife told agents that Zhang had attempted to flee to Canada shortly thereafter.Chinese origin former Apple employee pleads guilty to stealing sensitive info, The Economic Times. 2022-08-23.
===Federal charges and conviction===
On July 7, 2018, Zhang was arrested by federal agents at Terminal B of before attempting to board a flight to Beijing, China. He had purchased a lone ticket on at the last minute.Former Apple Employee Charged With Stealing Trade Secrets After Arrest at San Jose Airport, NBC Bay Area. 2018-07-10. He was accused of stealing Apple's internal files about its electric car project, including documentation about prototypes. Zhang retained Daniel Olmos as his attorney. On August 22 of that year, he pleaded guilty to the charges. The terms of his plea agreement were initially by the court.Apple has 'deep concerns' that ex-employees accused of theft will flee to China by Stephen Nellis, Reuters. EuroNews. 2019-10-12. On February 13, 2024, U.S. District Judge sentenced Zhang to four months at a minimum-security federal prison, where he would be recommended an opportunity to teach math to other inmates.Former Apple Engineer Sent To Prison For Stealing Trade Secrets, Judge Recommends Teaching Math In Prison by Ananya Gairola, Benzinga. 2024-02-13.Ex-Apple Engineer Sentenced to Four Months for Trade Secrets Theft by Peter Blumberg, Bloomberg. 2024-02-13.
==References==
==See also==
*Gaston Bastiaens, a former Apple executive who was convicted of corporate fraud.
*Jizhong Chen, a former Apple engineer who was charged with theft of trade secrets.
*Paul Devine, a former Apple manager who was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy.
*Gene Levoff, a former Apple attorney who was convicted of securities fraud.
*Dhirendra Prasad, a former Apple buyer who was convicted of mail and wire fraud.
*Weibao Wang, a former Apple engineer who was charged with theft of trade secrets.
==External links==
*United States v. Zhang at Casetext (2019-12-20)
Category:Former Apple employees