Hytera Communications, U.S. Government Reach Plea Agreement in Criminal-Conspiracy Case

LMR manufacturer Hytera Communications has reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), meaning the criminal-conspiracy trial scheduled to begin in three weeks no longer will be necessary, according to a federal court.

Set to begin Feb. 4, the twice-delayed criminal trial was expected to determine whether China-based LMR manufacturer Hytera Communications and seven former employees conspired more than 15 years ago to steal trade secrets from Motorola Solutions—simply known as Motorola at the time—to accelerate development of Hytera’s DMR products.

But a plea agreement has resulted in the scheduled trial—based on a 21-count indictment that was partially unsealed in a federal court in March 2022—being “stricken” from the schedule of Judge John Tharp of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to a posting by the court.

“Parties advise that they have reached a plea agreement,” the docket entry before the court states. “Trial date of 2/4/25 and scheduled pretrial conferences are stricken.”

Details of the plea agreement were not disclosed in the docket entry, but a hearing on the matter is scheduled for today—Monday, Jan. 13.