Qualcomm Files Trade Secret Lawsuits Against Two Former Employees Who Left to Work for Competitors
Qualcomm took legal action this week against a former engineer for allegedly uploading confidential trade secrets from the company’s internal network to his personal email and cloud storage accounts just prior to accepting a job with a competitor.
It is the second legal action by Qualcomm in the past three weeks against former workers accused of absconding with secret information on their way to other jobs.
Illumina Sues Guardant Health, Founders over Trade Secrets
Genomics sequencing company Illumina Inc on Thursday sued cancer-screening company Guardant Health and its two founders in Delaware federal court, accusing them of stealing and profiting from its trade secrets.
The lawsuit said Helmy Eltoukhy and AmirAli Talasaz, who are former Illumina employees, took thousands of confidential documents from Illumina related to its gene-sequencing technology and used company secrets to obtain at least 35 patents.
Self-Dealing Lawyer Held Jointly and Severally Liable in Trade Secret Misappropriation
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a judgment holding a lawyer jointly and severally liable for trade secret misappropriation and fraudulent transfer and enjoining any further use of the trade secrets until a money judgment against the lawyer-purchased client business was satisfied.
Krystal Biotech Reaches Settlement with PeriphaGen in Trade Secret Litigation
Krystal Biotech said it reached an agreement with PeriphaGen to resolve all claims in the trade secret litigation filed by PeriphaGen on May 20, 2020.
Under the conditions of the term sheet, Krystal will receive all of PeriphaGen’s biological materials and skin assets and will pay PeriphaGen $25M within 10 days of the completion of a final settlement agreement. The companies are expected to enter into a final settlement agreement within 45 days of March 12, 2022.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Misappropriating COVID-19 Relief Funds
According to court documents, Gurgen Israyelyan, 39, of West Hills, admitted he owned Saint Christopher Hospice Inc. (SCH), a hospice agency in North Hollywood, which closed around September 2019. SCH, which was never operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, received approximately $89,162 designated for the medical treatment and care of COVID-19 patients. Israyelyan admitted he stole the funds by spending them for his personal use and by transferring them to family members, including a family member in Armenia, rather than using the funds in conjunction with pandemic relief efforts as required
Father and Son Convicted of $1.7 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud
According to evidence presented during a six-day trial, Izzat Freitekh, 55, and his son Tarik Freitekh, aka Tareq Freitekh, 33, obtained $1.7 million by submitting multiple fraudulent PPP loan applications for companies owned by Izzat Freitekh: La Shish Kabob, La Shish Kabob Catering, Green Apple Catering, and Aroma Packaging. The loan applications misrepresented the number of employees and payroll expenses. After obtaining the fraudulent loan proceeds, the defendants engaged in unlawful monetary transactions with the proceeds of the scheme, including making $30,000 payments to family members.
