Tesla executives Elon Musk learned after Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov’s arrest in August that the company was the victim of Musk’s efforts to secure the company’s secrets.
The Russian man was sentenced on Monday for a previous term and will be deported to the United States after pleading guilty to bribing a $ 500,000 Tesla employee to install computer malware at Nevada power companies to steal company secrets.
Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, appearing in a video conference from prison, apologized after U.S. Regional Judge Miranda Du in Reno ruled that the attempted robbery was unsuccessful and the company was not disrupted.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’m sorry, “Kriuchkov, 27, said through a Russian court interpreter.
Chris Frey, his court-appointed lawyer, said Kriuchkov spoke English fluently, but the judge gave him an interpreter.
Kriuchkov said the nine months he was imprisoned in the US made him think of the pain he had suffered for his family in Russia and what made him known. Several relatives sent an email to the judge seeking relief.
“I feel it was not a bad decision,” said Kriuchkov, who could face up to five years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine.
The judge, who agreed not to use the company’s name in court, acted in accordance with the request between the defendants and Kriuchkov.
He was sentenced to 10 months in prison for pleading guilty in March to conspiracy to damage a computer; pay approximately $ 14,825 in reimbursement for the company during an investigation into the trial and the trial of the FBI and; three years of federal supervision if they stay in the US or return from abroad. He remains in prison until he leaves the country.
Tesla executives Elon Musk admitted after Kruichkov’s arrest in August in Los Angeles that the company was the victim of Musk’s efforts to secure company secrets. Officials said Kriuchkov was going to the airport to fly out of the country.
Tesla owns a large factory near Reno that manufactures electric car batteries and electrical components. Company officials did not immediately respond Monday to messages seeking comment.
The judge set aside Kriuchkov’s allowance to pay the undisclosed employee $ 500,000. He did not respond to previous reports that the bribes were $ 1m.
Officials praise the employee for reporting Kriuchkov’s actions to company officials.
The robbery was designed as a way to refuse to work, using fraudulent material to flood Tesla’s computer system, while a second intrusion could allow intruders to extract data from the company and demand compensation for threatening to make it public.
Suspected perpetrators are identified in court letters with their names, and evidence is given to one person who has failed to run an unknown company.
Kriuchkov told a judge in September that he knew the Russian government was aware of his case, but state prosecutors and the FBI had not said anything about the deal in the Kremlin.
“There is no question that the offense is serious,” Du said, referring to concerns about “these types of cyber-redeemed cases” in the US and other countries. “Unfortunately, the plot did not work out.”
