On Tuesday, September 1st, former Google engineer Ding Linwei was sentenced to one year in prison by a U.S. district judge for stealing artificial intelligence (AI) secrets. Judge Vince Chhabria handed down a sentence of 12 months and one day in prison for Ding, along with two years of supervised release. Additionally, Ding was ordered to pay over $198,000 in restitution to Google and fined $2,500.
Judge Chhabria rejected Ding’s request for a delayed sentence and ordered him to surrender himself for imprisonment within 90 days. The prosecutors had initially sought a sentence of 70 months for Ding, arguing for the severity of his crime, the sophistication of his actions, and the need to deter future similar offenses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Boom stated in court, “Think about the message this sends to potential ‘Mr. Dings’ and Silicon Valley companies. Stealing internal business secrets is a deliberate crime, not a momentary impulse.”
Ding’s lawyer, Grant Fondo, requested a three-month home confinement for Ding, citing his lack of criminal record and low risk of reoffending. The probation office recommended a maximum of six months in prison, but Judge Chhabria deemed it insufficient to reflect the seriousness of Ding’s crimes.
“This is a systematic, brazen theft of Google’s property for profit. He knew exactly what he was doing and harmed others in the process. He hurt Google, hurt his interns and family, and repeatedly tried to evade detection,” the judge said. “I struggle to imagine him not facing legal consequences for his actions.”
Ding addressed the court before sentencing, expressing gratitude for the court’s respect and fairness while apologizing to his family. He said, “I deeply apologize to all involved in this case, and those who have suffered pain and sadness over the years. I appreciate everyone’s forgiveness and understanding, especially my family. I am scared and saddened to be separated from my son.”
Ding was accused of stealing Google trade secrets. Google hired him as a software engineer in 2019 to work on its supercomputing data center. The government alleged that from spring 2022 to 2023, Ding transferred and downloaded 1,255 internal Google documents totaling around 14,000 pages.
Initially charged in March 2024 with four counts of stealing trade secrets, Ding faced an expanded indictment in 2025. The case was coordinated by a cross-department technology task force established by the U.S. government in 2023.
After a two-week trial in January 2026, a San Francisco jury found Ding guilty of 14 counts of stealing trade secrets and economic espionage. Ding contested the charges and filed motions for a retrial, declaring mistrial, and not guilty release.
In June, Judge Chhabria ruled that any reasonable jury could conclude Ding intended to steal trade secrets to profit himself and his company in China. However, in an order issued in August, the judge overturned Ding’s economic espionage conviction due to insufficient evidence linking him to profiting China’s government while uploading secret files.
Fondo indicated that Ding would appeal the judgment. Judge Chhabria noted that an appeal could potentially lead to a reconsideration of the innocence verdict on economic espionage, which would prompt a resentencing for Ding.