Ex-Apple Employee Who Stole Apple Smart Electric Vehicle Trade Secrets Sentenced To Prison

Former Apple employee, Xiaolang Zhang, has been sentenced to four months in prison for stealing trade secrets, as ruled by the California district court. Additionally, he will undergo three years of supervised release and is obligated to pay $146,984 in damages.

The legal proceedings began in 2018 when the FBI and Apple initiated an investigation, uncovering Zhang's unauthorized acquisition of sensitive trade secrets related to Project Titan, Apple's future smart electric vehicle initiative.

Following his departure from Apple to join XMotors, a Chinese autonomous car startup, Zhang's suspicious behavior prompted Apple's scrutiny. Subsequent analysis of his network activity and Apple devices revealed evidence of his illicit actions while serving as an engineer for various Project Titan endeavors.

Having pleaded guilty, Zhang is now mandated to serve his sentence, marking the culmination of this protracted legal ordeal.

You may read the official court sentence document via 9to5Mac.