A former senior software engineer for CME Group, a Chicago-based derivatives trading firm, has pleaded guilty to theft of trade secrets for stealing tens of millions of dollars' worth of computer source code and other information while pursuing plans to improve an electronic trading exchange in China, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Chunlai Yang downloaded more than 10,000 files containing CME computer source code that made up a substantial part of the operating systems for the Globex electronic trading platform, the DOJ said in a press release. The DOJ has estimated that the potential loss to the company was between US$50 million and $100 million, while Yang has pegged the loss at less than $55.7 million.
Yang, 49, of Libertyville, Illinois, worked for CME Group for 11 years. He pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to two counts of theft of trade secrets. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count, while a written plea agreement advises 70 to 87 months in prison.
