Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Business

Scientist Accused Of Intellectual Property Theft

by Marc S. Reisch
December 5, 2011 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 89, Issue 49

An organic chemist who worked for Frontier Scientific until Nov. 1 has been charged with stealing the chemical “recipes” for 2,2'-dipyrromethane and other Frontier compounds. A complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, where Frontier is based, accuses Prabhu Mohapatra, 42, of e-mailing the recipe from Frontier’s labs to his brother-in-law, who was setting up a firm in India called Medichemblox. The new firm, in which Mohapatra had an interest, was planning to produce the compounds in competition with Frontier. Bringing in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI to investigate allowed Frontier to press a case it didn’t have the resources to pursue on its own, CEO W. Tim Miller says. If convicted, Mohapatra could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.