That’s the word a “senior company official” used to describe the potential fallout from an Iranian-American researcher at the University of Michigan who stole confidential files about a secret aerospace supercomputer and sent them to his brother in Iran, where the brother works on nuclear missiles, according to the FBI.
Federal agents arrested Ypsilanti engineer and UM employee Amin Hasanzadeh late last month on charges of interstate transportation of stolen property, fraud and misuse of visas, permits or other documents – the former for sending trade secrets to Iran, and the latter for lying about serving in the Iranian military.
Hasandzadeh appeared last week for a bond hearing in Detroit, where a judge denied a request for bail pending trial.
The Detroit News reports: He is charged with stealing technical data from an unidentified company in Metro Detroit and sending it to his brother, who is linked to Iran’s nuclear weapons industry.
Hasanzadeh, an Iranian military veteran, was allegedly involved in a yearlong plan to steal confidential data about a secret project involving an aerospace industry supercomputer, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
The 42-year-old, a lawful permanent resident in the U.S., allegedly started sending trade secrets and important files on the company’s top projects to his brother less than a week after starting with the company. – READ MORE