Jin, in her late 30s, says she didn't. But U.S. federal prosecutors are going after her for allegedly sharing technical and highly-sensitive trade secrets to benefit a "foreign government, namely the People's Republic of China, specifically its military," according to the Dec. 9, 2008, indictment filed by federal prosecutors in Chicago.

While the U.S. government's legal paperwork seeks to shield identity by referring to the victim firm as simply "Company A," it's a safe bet that it's Motorola, which has its own civil lawsuit pending against Jin and cellular-equipment maker Lemko with many identical details -- though it doesn't accuse her of sharing secrets with the Chinese government.

The shroud of secrecy will officially drop once a public trial begins; federal prosecutors and Jin's attorneys are due to meet in a Chicago court next week with the expectation of setting a trial date.

The insider threat

Jin was arrested by U.S. Customs officials on Feb. 28, 2007, at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, ready to depart on a one-way ticket to China. She was carrying over 1,000 electronic and paper documents from her former employer -- she had just quit Motorola -- as well as Chinese documents for military telecommunications technology, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) affidavit filed in court as part of the case.