246: Josh Mayers – Sinovel Wind Turbine, Trade Secret Theft

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Retired agent Josh Mayers served with the FBI for 27 years. Prior to his appointment, he spent seven years working as a police officer/investigator in New York City and was a graduate of the 263rd Session of the FBI National Academy. During his FBI career, Josh was assigned to the Washington Field Office (WFO) and the Milwaukee Division, Madison Resident Agency.

In this episode, Josh reviews his seven-year-long investigation of Sinovel Wind Turbine Group, an 18% Chinese state-owned wind turbine manufacturer, and three individuals for conspiracy and the theft of proprietary software from American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC).

AMSC, a US company headquartered in Devens, MA, with offices in Wisconsin, Beijing, and Austria, estimated the economic harm from this theft was approximately $1.2 billion and  600 jobs.

In 2018, Josh was awarded the Assistant Attorney General Award for exceptional service, and in 2019, he was awarded the Director’s Award, Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys, both in recognition of his work on the Sinovel investigation.

Throughout his time in the Bureau, Josh worked most investigative programs, to include violent crime, drugs, gangs, bank robberies, public corruption and fraud cases.

He worked counterterrorism matters for over ten years, with numerous deployments to the Middle East and Africa.

He was an FBI Firearms Instructor, Hostage Negotiator, spent sixteen years on SWAT. He taught interviewing and interrogation, as well as undercover operations, to local, state and international law enforcement officers.

Currently, Josh is an Assistant Adjunct Professor, in the Center for Law, Society & Justice, Criminal Justice Certificate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; he also works as a private investigator and security consultant in Wisconsin.

Special Agent (Retired)

Joshua Mayers

Aug. 1991 – Feb. 2018

“The US Attorney on the sentencing said this was attempted corporate homicide. Sinovel tried to kill a US corporation.”—Retired Agent Josh Mayers

The following are links to news articles about the Sinovel wind turbine trade secret theft case:

United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Wisconsin – 7/6/2018: Sinovel Sentencing Press Release

Wall Street Journal – 1/6/2018: Trial Over Theft of Wind Technology Spotlights U.S.-China Tensions

Reuters – 1/24/2018: China’s Sinovel convicted in U.S. of trade-secret theft 

The Cipher Brief – 4/5/2018: Catching a Chinese IP Thief: How the FBI Tracked and Caught Sinovel by Josh Mayers

NPR – 7/6/2018: Judge Orders Chinese Wind-Turbine Maker To Pay $59 Million For Stealing Trade Secrets

You may also want to listen to these other FBI Retired Case File Review episodes featuring trade secret and intellectual property theft:

Episode 178: Russell Atkinson – Trade Secret Theft, Silicon Valley

Episode 218: Darren Mott — Cybercrime, Online Software Piracy