The U.S. government has accused a former executive at defense contractor L3Harris of stealing trade secrets and selling them to a buyer in Russia, according to court documents seen by TechCrunch.
On October 14, the Department of Justice accused Peter Williams of stealing eight trade secrets from two unnamed companies. The DOJ made the allegation in a “criminal information” document, which, like an indictment, represents a formal accusation of alleged crimes.
The document does not specify Williams’ relationship with the two companies, specify the types of trade secrets, nor name the alleged Russian buyer.
TechCrunch has confirmed that the Williams mentioned in the document, which does not specify where he worked, is the former general manager at Trenchant, a division of L3Harris that develops hacking and surveillance tools for Western governments, including the United States.
Williams became Trenchant’s general manager on October 23, 2024, and he worked at Trenchant until August 21, 2025, per U.K. business records. Williams, a 39-year-old Australian citizen, resided in Washington D.C., according to the court document.
Four former Trenchant employees had previously told TechCrunch that Williams, who was known inside the company as “Doogie,” had been arrested.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday that Williams is not currently in federal custody.
The DOJ accused Williams of stealing seven trade secrets between April 2022 and June 2025, and the eighth trade secret between June and August 6, 2025.
According to the criminal information document, the U.S. government alleged Williams made $1.3 million for the sale of the trade secrets. For that reason, the DOJ seeks to forfeit Williams’ property derived from his alleged crimes.
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A spokesperson for L3Harris did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Williams’ attorney John Rowley declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch on Thursday.
The FBI, and the U.S. District Court for District of Columbia, where Williams’ case is being prosecuted, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Thursday. (The U.S. government has been shut d …