HTC has had one hell of a rough year with poor sales, a questionable future, and most especially with Nokia’s recent patent win against HTC. The company was hoping to end this rough year quietly so that it could lick its wounds and begin getting back up on its feet, but 2013 isn’t over yet. Less than a week before the new year, one of HTC’s top executives and several of its other employees have been indicted for leaking company secrets.
We thought HTC’s rough year ended earlier this week with Nokia’s patent win against HTC, but the bad news just keeps coming. Now The Wall Street Journal is reporting that several HTC employees, including a top executive, have been indicted for leaking company secrets, taking kickbacks and falsifying expenses. HTC vice president for design Thomas Chien was charged with leaking details about an unannounced HTC smartphone design. It is alleged that Chien leaked the details to individuals in Beijing that he was planning to form a new company with.