A Google Engineer Accused of Stealing Trade Secrets Sold to Uber

A former Google engineer has been accused of stealing trade secrets from the company, which he then sold to Uber, the Associated Press reported.

The charge filed by the San Jose, California prosecutor's office is related to a case filed in 2017 by Google's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle division, Waymo. Uber agreed to pay $ 245 million to settle the case, but the federal judge in charge of the case made an unusual recommendation to launch a criminal investigation.

It's important for Uber to have self-driving car technology

Anthony Levandowski, a pioneer in the development of robotic cars, has been accused of stealing trade secrets. He could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000 for each of the 33 counts or a total of 8.25 million, the BTA reported.

According to the prosecution, months before his abrupt departure in 2016, Levandowski downloaded numerous files from Google's self-driving car program and used the information to create his Otomotto company, which was later acquired by Uber for $ 680 million.

Prosecutors have indicated that the investigation is ongoing, but will not specify whether Uber and company founder Travis Kalanik are the subject of the investigation.

"He didn't steal anything, from anyone," the statement reads. "This case rehashes claims already discredited in a civil case that settled more than a year and a half ago. The downloads at issue occurred while Anthony was still working at Google—when he and his team were authorized to use the information. None of these supposedly secret files ever went to Uber or to any other company.", Tech Crunch reported.