What is inside a can
The second-longest prison sentence on this list is not for a chip or a missile sensor. It is for the lining of a soda can. Drag across the can to cut it open.
Updated · 1 source cited
- 01 · The part you never see
A can is lined on the inside
For years the lining was made with BPA. It keeps the drink from losing flavor and stops the container from corroding or reacting with what is in it.
- 02 · The replacement
Then the industry had to replace it
BPA raised health concerns, so companies went looking for BPA-free coatings. Witnesses at trial called the work very complex, expensive and time-consuming.
- 03 · What it cost to develop
$120M to develop the formulas
The stolen formulas cost nearly $120 million to develop. They belonged to seven companies. A chemist had access to them while working at Coca-Cola in Atlanta and then at Eastman Chemical in Kingsport, Tennessee.
- Akzo-Nobel
- BASF
- Dow Chemical
- PPG
- Toyochem
- Sherwin Williams
- Eastman Chemical
- 04 · The plan
A new coating company in China
The chemist took the formulas to set up a BPA-free coating business with a corporate partner in Weihai. The two received millions of dollars in Chinese government grants for it, according to evidence at trial.
- 05 · The sentence
14 years in prison
A jury convicted the chemist of economic espionage and trade secret theft in April 2021, after a thirteen-day trial. The sentence was 168 months and a $200,000 fine.
Source: Justice Department