Two men charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) – Two former employees of a Connecticut-based defense contractor have been indicted on charges connected to the theft of company trade secrets.

Federal prosecutors said Monday that 45-year-old Jay Williams, of Griswold, and 33-year-old Jared Dylan Sparks, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, are charged with conspiracy to steal, upload, transmit and possess stolen trade secrets. Sparks is also charged with theft of trade secrets.

Authorities say in 2010 and 2011 they worked at LBI Inc., a Groton-based contractor that designs and builds unmanned underwater vehicles for the Navy.

Prosecutors allege the men uploaded proprietary information from LBI into Dropbox accounts before they began working for another company that had developed software for LBI’s vehicles.

Williams’ lawyer did not return messages seeking comment. Court records do not list a lawyer for Sparks.