SAVANNAH, GA: A North Carolina man has been sentenced to additional time in prison after being convicted of lying during a prior sentencing for conspiring to steal trade secrets from aircraft manufacturing companies.
Craig German, 60, of Kernersville, N.C., was sentenced to 20 months in prison for Perjury and False Statements to a Government Agency, in addition to the 70-month prison term he already was serving after pleading guilty in February 2020 to Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge also fined R. Stan Baker also ordered German to pay a fine of $1,500.
“Craig German and his co-conspirators admitted engaging in illegal and deceptive practices to steal information from private businesses, and then German lied while being sentenced for those crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Substantial time behind bars will hold him accountable for his dishonesty.”
German, Gilbert Basaldua, 63, of Hilton Head, S.C., and others were indicted in May 2019 to charges that they conspired to steal proprietary information from aircraft companies for which they worked inside and outside the Southern District, and then used that information to speed the design and regulatory review process for a competing aircraft company.
During his sentencing hearing in 2020, German lied when he testified under oath and denied having copied more than 15,000 proprietary engineering drawings and documents onto a removable storage device while he was employed at an aircraft manufacturing company. German also lied to the FBI during a voluntary meeting when he emphatically denied transferring more than 15,000 proprietary engineering drawings and documents to a removable storage device.
German’s co-defendant awaits sentencing. After two days of trial in September 2021, Basaldua pled guilty to Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets and Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each charge, along with substantial financial penalties.
“False testimony undermines the justice process and can have dire consequences on the integrity of the justice system,” said Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully this additional sentence demonstrates how seriously the FBI takes perjury and deters other from attempting to deceive the justice system in the future.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Steven H. Lee.