(Reuters) - A Chinese woman has been arrested and charged with trying to steal patented U.S. seed technology as part of a plot to smuggle types of specialised corn from farm fields in the U.S. Midwest for use in China, authorities said on Wednesday.
The woman, Mo Yun, is married to the founder and chairman of a Chinese conglomerate that runs a corn seed subsidiary. She and her brother, Mo Hailong, who also goes by the name Robert Mo, worked together and with several others from China to steal the valuable corn seed from Iowa and Illinois, according to law enforcement officials.