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Indictments allege conspiracy to steal corn seed

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 19th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted six men from China on charges of conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The indictment, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Des Moines, was unsealed on Thursday. It alleges the men conspired to steal patented seed developed by DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto and ship it to China. The indictment follows last week’s announcement by U.S. Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt that the FBI had uncovered seed thefts.

Indicted is Mo Hailong, international business director of the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group. He is in federal custody. Also indicted is Li Shaoming, CEO of Beijing Kings Nower Seed, three of his employees, and Wang Hongwei, who is believed to live in Canada.

No attorneys had yet appeared on their behalf in court documents.