An electrical engineer from Glendale who was found guilty of violating the Economic Espionage Act for stealing and distributing trade secrets from his former employer was sentenced on June 6 to federal prison.

Derek Wai Hung Tam Sing, 45, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder presided over a bench trial in September and found Sing guilty in a written ruling issued in January. In her 28-page ruling, Snyder convicted Sing of 32 counts of violating the Economic Espionage Act by transmitting and possessing numerous trade secrets.

Sing worked at the Pasadena-based Rogerson Kratos in 2012. Until he was fired by the aircraft avionics company, Sing had access to trade secrets and had signed a confidentiality agreement that prohibited him from disclosing any confidential information that belonged to the company.

According to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors, Sing’s short tenure at the company was “tumultuous.” Eventually, he was fired, but not before he took home with him a trove of documents related to [Rogerson Kratos’] confidential trade secrets, including at least 27 schematics.

After being fired, Sing retained materials that he had stolen while working at Rogerson Kratos, despite being specifically asked to return all trade secrets. Instead, Sing “packaged the trade secrets with sufficient supporting documentation and instructions so that other competitor companies would be able to use the trade secrets and reverse engineer Rogerson Kratos’ products,” according to Snyder’s written verdict.