ALBAWABA - Former Apple engineer Xiaolang Zhang has been handed an unexpected punishment after admitting to stealing vital information related to Apple's self-driving car project. Zhang has been sentenced to 120 days in jail followed by three years of probation.
Zhang's arrest occurred at San Jose International Airport in 2018 as he prepared to board a flight to China. Initially, Zhang denied the allegations but changed his plea in 2022, confessing to stealing trade secrets.
According to court documents disclosed by 9to5Mac, Zhang has also been ordered to pay $146,984 in restitution. Initially facing a possible 10-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine, Zhang's penalty has now been determined.
Zhang, who previously worked as a hardware engineer for Apple's autonomous vehicle initiative known as Project Titan, allegedly transferred confidential documents, including engineering schematics of the project's circuit boards, to his wife's laptop using AirDrop.
In addition to these charges, Zhang is accused of stealing circuit boards and a Linux server from Apple's development labs. He is also alleged to have stored copies of technical guides outlining Apple's prototype on his wife's laptop.
