By: VICTOR EPSTEIN
BUSINESSWEEK

A Chinese national living in the United States has been accused of stealing a software program from his former U.S. employer and selling a modified version to the Chinese government after being fired.

Yan Zhu, 31, a resident of Lodi, was arrested Thursday for stealing programming-source code needed to modify the encrypted program as well as internal sales materials from the company, the FBI said. Authorities would not name the company or identify its corporate headquarters, saying only that it is located in Mercer County, New Jersey.

He and two conspirators sold the program to environmental protection agencies in China's Hebei and Shanxi provinces for about 10 percent of its $1.5 million value, according to the FBI.