[BreachExchange] As Seen On TV trade secrets on sale for low, low price of $198K, feds say

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/10/employee_of_as_
seen_on_tv_company_tried_to_sell_tr.html

FBI agents on Thursday arrested an employee of an unnamed manufacturer of
"As Seen On TV" products on charges of stealing trade secrets, after what
prosecutors said was a two-month-long sting operation.

During the sting, Ralph Mandil, 37, of West Long Branch, offered to sell
merchandise and trade secrets stolen from his employer to people he
believed were employees of an unnamed competitor, according to a statement
from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Those employees, prosecutors say, were actually law enforcement agents
wearing recording devices.

While the prosecutors did not identify Mandil's employer by name, the firm
was described as manufacturing a number of personal, household and
automotive products "frequently marketed via television ads" and "commonly
sold at large retailers such as Walmart."

Yuan Li admitted to accessing, downloading and making available for sale on
Abby's website internal Sanofi database information on compounds the
company says were trade secrets

The range of information for sale allegedly included unreleased product
names, specifications, artwork, advertising, market data and manufacturing
information, according to prosecutors.

Mandil was allegedly offering the information for sale at the price of
$197,500, which would buy access to an online cloud storage account
containing the trade secrets.

In exchange for $10,000, Mandil also provided investigators with samples of
the merchandise and information, which he told the undercover agents was
worth "millions," the statement says.

Mandil is facing charges of the theft of trade secrets and wire fraud. If
convicted of wire fraud, he faces up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors say.

He was scheduled to make an initial appearance Thursday afternoon before
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark, according to prosecutors.
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