Man tries to steal trade secrets from Nevada defense contractor

Peter James Cariani, 58, worked for the Sierra Nevada Corporation as a systems engineer on April 7, 2015, when he downloaded tens of thousands of electronic files from the company’s network, according to court documents.

The files contained trade secret information related to the defense company’s Radar Enhanced Vision System, which displays digital images of the ground for pilots flying in zero-visibility conditions.

Cariani transferred the files to a personal external hard drive, and later transmitted information derived from the files to others for potential economic benefit, court records show.

An investigation was initiated by the FBI’s Reno branch after the company detected that an unauthorized electronic device had been used to download files from its computer network.

Cariani, of Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted theft of trade secrets and faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 31 by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks.

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.