Defense asks court to toss evidence in corn conspiracy

Defendants accused of stealing trademarked corn in Iowa and sending it to China have asked the court to toss out surveillance evidence collected under a law created to combat terrorists and 'agents of foreign power.”

Attorneys for Mo Hailong, 46, also known as Robert Mo, a Chinese national, claimed in the motion this was the first time the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has been used to investigate a trade secret dispute between two privately owned companies. FISA surveillance must be used to obtain 'foreign intelligence information,” and it should be used only when the information can't be 'reasonably” obtained by other investigative techniques.

The surveillance exceeded the law and violated Hailong's rights, and the FISA evidence should be suppressed, according to the motion filed this month in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Iowa. Mo Yun, Hailong's sister, also charged in this case, joined in her brother's motion last week.

The defense also contended that prosecutors have failed to produce all the evidence gathered in the case. They asked for a list of key documents and a table of contents for data taken from about 29 digital devices; over half a million unique documents or files; over 100 hours of audio recordings; over 50 hours of intercepted phone calls - most in Mandarin; and other documents numbering in the thousands.

Prosecutors filed a response Thursday. They didn't address the FISA argument but said they have complied with discovery rules and submitted all evidence to the defense and will submit more materials this week.

Prosecutors pointed out this a complex case, and it's not unusual that the discovery process is lengthy. They also say there were proposed dates for submitting some information, and they will comply with those deadlines.

They argue the majority of investigative material disclosed was classified, and there is a process to declassify it that is time consuming.

The charges

According to the indictment filed in 2013, seven Chinese nationals conspired to steal trade secrets of several U.S. seed manufacturing companies. They then transported those trade secrets to China for the benefit of their Chinese seed company. The alleged conspiracy started in April 2011 and continued through December 2012.

The defendants are accused of stealing inbred corn seed from Dupont Pioneer, Monsanto and LG Seeds. Hailong was arrested after he and another alleged conspirator, Wang Lei, were seen near a recently planted field of inbred corn seed from the Pioneer Hi-Bred facility outside Dysart.

According to the indictment, the conspirators attempted to 'covertly” transfer the inbred corn seed to China. Hailong is accused of mailing the seeds to Florida and to China. He also is accused of planting another group of seeds on farmland that he purchased.

The estimated loss on an inbred line of seed is about five to eight years of research and a minimum of $30 million to $40 million, according to the indictment.

The defendants

The defendants charged are:

' Mo Hailong, director of international business of the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co., which is part of DBN Group. DBN Group is believed to be a Chinese conglomerate with a corn seed subsidiary company, Kings Nower Seed.

' Mo Yun, wife of Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. Chairman Shao Genhuo and sister of Hailong.

' Li Shaoming, chief executive officer of Beijing Kings Nower Seed, headquartered in Beijing.

' Wang Lei, vice chairman of Beijing Kings Nower Seed.

' Ye Jian, research manager of Beijing Kings Nower Seed.

' Lin Yong, an employee of Beijing Kings Nower Seed.

' Wang Hongwei, believed to be a resident of Quebec, Canada, and a citizen of both Canada and China.

Hailong's attorneys asked the court to suppress the FISA evidence because there's no probable cause to show Hailong is a 'foreign power” or 'agent of a foreign power.” According to documents submitted, Hailong's company DBN is privately owned.