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Libertyville man gets probation for stealing company's secrets

CHICAGO — A former software engineer for CME Group who pleaded guilty in 2012 to stealing source code to create a similar program in China won't spend any time in prison.

Chunlai Yang of Libertyville was sentenced Tuesday to four years of probation for stealing software that underpinned the CME Group's Globex trading platform.

Prosecutors said the 50-year-old Libertyville man downloaded more than 10,000 files containing CME computer source code used at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Prosecutors wanted a six-year prison term for Yang. They contended failing to punish Yang would encourage more corporate espionage.

However, U.S. District Judge John Darrah said the case was a classic example of “when good people do bad things.” He cited Yang's charity work for the “exemplary life” he'd led until the theft.

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