Seven charged with conspiring to steal U.S. trade secrets for China firm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seven people were charged on Wednesday with conspiring to steal trade secrets from a Houston-based business on behalf of a company in China that makes syntactic foam for military and civilian uses, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Those arrested and charged include four U.S. citizens: Shan Shi, 52, of Houston; Uka Kalu Uche, 35, of Spring, Texas; Samuel Abotar Ogoe, 74, of Missouri City, Texas; and Johnny Wade Randall, 48, of Conroe, Texas.

Also charged were Kui Bo, 40, a Canadian living in Houston, Gang Liu, 31, a Chinese national living in Houston as a permanent resident, and Hui Huang, 32, a Chinese national living in China who works for the Chinese manufacturer allegedly involved in the conspiracy.

(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by David Alexander)