{"id":6025,"date":"2020-08-05T00:43:54","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T00:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/blog\/star-technologist-who-crossed-google-sentenced-to-18-months-in-prison\/"},"modified":"2020-08-05T00:43:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T00:43:54","slug":"star-technologist-who-crossed-google-sentenced-to-18-months-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/star-technologist-who-crossed-google-sentenced-to-18-months-in-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Technologist Who Crossed Google Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Star Technologist Who Crossed Google Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison<\/h2>\n

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OAKLAND, Calif. \u2014 Anthony Levandowski, a pioneer of self-driving car technology in Silicon Valley, had once been feted by companies such as Google and Uber for his engineering expertise.<\/p>\n

But on Tuesday, Mr. Levandowski\u2019s fall from grace was capped when he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing self-driving car trade secrets from Google. He will not be required to serve his sentence until the coronavirus pandemic subsides, a federal judge ordered.<\/p>\n

Mr. Levandowski, 40, also agreed to pay $756,499 to Waymo, a self-driving business spun out of Google, as restitution. He had filed for bankruptcy in March, saying he had $50 million to $100 million in personal assets. He will also be required to pay a fine of $95,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday marks the end of three and a half long years and the beginning of another long road ahead,\u201d Mr. Levandowski said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m thankful to my family and friends for their continued love and support during this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Over the past few years, Mr. Levandowski had become a Silicon Valley cautionary tale. He had initially earned millions of dollars for his work at Google and had a close relationship with Larry Page, a Google founder, but that changed when Mr. Levandowski left the search giant. As part of his departure, he took some of Google\u2019s self-driving talent with him to found Otto, a self-driving truck start-up.<\/p>\n

Mr. Levandowski sold Otto to Uber for more than $600 million in 2016. At Uber, Mr. Levandowski was highly valued by the ride-hailing giant\u2019s chief executive at the time, Travis Kalanick, who also wanted to develop a fleet of self-driving cars.<\/p>\n

But in 2017, Waymo \u2014 newly spun out of Google \u2014 sued Uber for theft of trade secrets and identified Mr. Levandowski for taking years of autonomous vehicle research to bolster Uber\u2019s self-driving program. Uber and Waymo eventually settled, with Uber handing Waymo roughly $245 million in Uber stock. Uber also agreed not to infringe upon Waymo\u2019s intellectual property.<\/p>\n

The settlement between the companies did not mean Mr. Levandowski\u2019s troubles were over.<\/p>\n

Last August, federal prosecutors charged him with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets from Google. Before resigning from his job at the search giant, Mr. Levandowski had downloaded thousands of files related to the company\u2019s development of self-driving cars, the Justice Department said.<\/p>\n

In March, Mr. Levandowski pleaded guilty to one count of trade secret theft in an agreement with federal prosecutors to drop the remaining charges, according to a court filing at the time. The plea carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n