WASHINGTON- A former Bristol-Myers Squibb Co BMY.N employee was charged with stealing company secrets
and proprietary information as part of a plan to set up his own pharmaceutical company in India, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Shalin Jhaveri, 29, had worked as a technical operations associate since November 2007, but was fired from the company's Syracuse facility on Tuesday, according to the Justice Department and the company.

"Jhaveri stole numerous trade secrets as part of a plan to establish a pharmaceutical firm in his native India which would compete with Bristol-Myers Squibb in various markets around the world," the Justice Department said in a statement.

He was arrested and a judge ordered him held without bail ahead of a detention hearing on Monday. If convicted, Jhaveri could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

He was accused of taking more than 1,300 documents from the company that he spent hours over the course of several days downloading to his laptop and portable hard drives, according to an FBI affidavit filed in a New York federal court.

"I have concluded that Jhaveri has taken confidential and proprietary documents from BMS (Bristol-Myers Squibb) that have substantial value," said the affidavit by FBI special agent Timothy Dwyer. It did not state a specific value.

Bristol-Myers corporate security on Dec. 22, 2009 notified its in-house computer security experts that Jhaveri was taking confidential material.

They learned days later that he planned to start a bio-pharmaceutical business in India with his father, the affidavit said.

Dwyer said that on Feb. 2 he observed a meeting at a hotel between Jhaveri and an unidentified individual from whom he believed could provide financing for the venture in India.

The FBI agent said that he interviewed Jhaveri after the meeting during which the suspect said he took the treasure
trove of documents, understood that they were proprietary and confidential and that he had shown some of them to the unnamed individual who was not connected to Bristol-Myers.

"We are aware of the case and we are cooperating fully with the authorities," said Bristol-Myers spokesman Brian Henry.

The pharmaceutical company develops and manufactures biotechnology medicines for clinical and commercial use at the Syracuse facility.

It was not immediately clear whether Jhaveri had obtained a lawyer.