A manager working at a famous videogame developer was detained last week, as he attempted to get on a plane to Beijing after allegedly stealing the firm's trade secrets, according to a federal criminal complaint opened on Tuesday.
Jing Zeng of San Ramon, Calif., reportedly downloaded critical information on the user mechanism of Game of War: Fire Age, one of the top-grossing games in Apple's App Store. The 42-year-old man was the global infrastructure director for the game's creator, Machine Zone Inc.
The case could make the naturalized U.S. citizen Zeng the newest face in the American authorities' battle against trade-secret theft from U.S. companies.
Zeng's attorney didn't immediately give any comment regarding the issue.
After holding various Chinese and U.S. tech jobs, Zeng entered Machine Zone toward the end of 2014, based on his LinkedIn profile. The Palo Alto, Calif., firm is the producer of Game of War, an online videogame in a medieval setting that uses knights and dragons. The game's ads, which were shown in Super Bowl, feature the famous model Kate Upton.
According to the complaint, Zeng was uncomfortable with his superior and desired to join other teams, but his bosses turned down his request. After being forced to resign, Zeng started downloading user behavior's data from a proprietary company database, the complaint stated, citing record files from Machine Zone's tech unit.
When opposed by the management, Zeng tried to use the files to lobby for a severance agreement, according to the complaint. Machine Zone was willing to give a three-month package, but Zeng wanted six or seven months, the complaint said.
He then reportedly gave inconsistent accounts on the number of copies he made and on the location of the files--whether in China or San Ramon. The company sought the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and agents captured him as he tried to catch a flight on Aug. 20.
Zeng's plans for the stolen files were not specified in the complaint. He is not accused of stealing the Game of War's source code, but of illegally obtaining data relevant to the user interaction with the game, which allows users to use real money in-game.
The data allegedly stolen by Zeng "provide valuable insight and a huge competitive advantage over other online game providers and competitors," based on the criminal complaint.
On his LinkedIn account, Zeng posted that he had left Machine Zone last month, and placed a current position stating, "Ready for next adventure."