A Canadian man living in China has been arrested in the United States for allegedly stealing trade secrets from electric car maker Tesla TSLA.O and conspiring to sell them to undercover police officers, Reuters reported.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Klaus Pflugbeil, who runs a business in China that sells technology used in electric cars, was arrested in New York on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said he traveled to meet with undercover agents who he believed were businessmen from Long Island.

Pflugbeil and his business partner Yilong Shao built their business using trade secrets belonging to “a leading American electric vehicle company,” prosecutors said. Shao was also charged but remains at large.

Prosecutors did not name the U.S.-based company, but said it acquired a Canadian manufacturer of battery assembly lines in 2019. This fits the description of Tesla’s purchase of a Canadian company called Hibar.

Prosecutors said both Pflugbeil and Shao are former employees of the Canadian company.

Prosecutors said Pflugbeil was scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday afternoon. (photo: Mariusz Burcz | Dreamstime.com)