Former Raytheon Engineer Charged With ITAR Violations After Exporting Data Overseas
A Chinese national and former Raytheon engineer was charged with violating the International Traffic in Arms Regulations after he took a company laptop with sensitive military technology data to China, according to an indictment filed Jan. 29. Wei Sun, who worked as an electrical engineer for Raytheon Missile Systems from 2009 to 2019, had access to “advanced and sensitive defense-related technology” on his laptop, the indictment said, and his trip overseas constituted an illegal export of ITAR-controlled defense articles. Sun’s computer contained controlled data covered under Categories 4 (launch vehicles, guided missiles, ballistic missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs and mines) and 11 (military electronics) of the ITAR, including a “Field Programmable Gate Array,” according to an unsealed complaint.
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In 2018, Sun told a Raytheon official he was planning to take his work laptop with him on a trip overseas, but the official said that would violate the ITAR, according to the complaint. Sun took the laptop with him anyway, the indictment said, and resigned from Raytheon in an email while overseas. After returning to the U.S., Raytheon officials interviewed Sun, who admitted to taking the laptop overseas to China and said he knew the data was controlled under the ITAR. A Raytheon trade compliance official also found information technology security software on Sun’s laptop that was also export-controlled, the complaint said.
For a copy of the indictment and the complaint, email ITTNews@warren-news.com.