Former GE Engineer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Steal Trade Secrets

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Miguel Sernas, age 40, of Mexico City, Mexico, pled guilty yesterday to conspiring to steal trade secrets from the General Electric Company (GE).

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his plea, Sernas, a former engineer with GE, admitted that he conspired with his business partner and co-defendant, Jean Patrice Delia, to compete against GE using trade secrets Delia stole from GE while employed by GE in Schenectady, New York.  Sernas admitted that he and Delia, operating as ThermoGen Power Services, used the stolen trade secrets, as well as stolen marketing data, pricing information, and other confidential GE documents, to compete against GE around the world.

Sernas, who is in custody, faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced on September 16, 2019 by Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

The charges in the indictment against Delia are merely accusations.  Delia is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty

This case is being investigated by the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne A. Myers.