ThermoGen Power Services of Montreal touts itself on its website as a global leader in power plant testing and optimization.
But a newly unsealed indictment alleges there’s a little bit more to the story. Federal prosecutors in New York state say ex-General Electric engineers Jean Patrice Delia and Miguel Sernas used materials stolen from their former employer to help secure ThermoGen’s business with GE’s power plant customers.
The Albany Times Union reports that Delia worked in the performance testing group for what was then known as GE Energy in Schenectady from 2001 to 2012.
The indictment said he took a two-year sabbatical during that span to lay the groundwork for ThermoGen, which was established in 2008. The Justice Department also said Delia stole thousands of electronic files — including pricing documents and proprietary information developed by GE to calibrate its power plant turbines.
Delia was charged Friday in Albany with conspiring to steal trade secrets, while Sernas, of Mexico City, was arraigned earlier this year.
Each faces up to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release, as well as fines of as much as $250,000.
