Irvine engineer gets 27 months in prison for stealing trade secrets intended for his new firm in China

SANTA ANA — A Southern California engineer who planned to use stolen trade secrets to start his own medical device company in China is going to federal prison.

Wenfeng Lu was sentenced Monday to 27 months in prison.

Prosecutors say the Irvine engineer, who’s a Chinese national, stole trade secrets while working for two medical device companies. Lu first worked at ev3 (which later become part of Covidien and then Medtronic), and later at Edwards Lifesciences Corp., prosecutors said.

Lu received financing from the Chinese government to found a company there. He acknowledged planning to use the secrets he stole from his U.S. employers.

Lu was arrested as he prepared to board a plane in 2012. In May, he pleaded guilty to six federal counts.