Tappy the robot is behind part of charges against Huawei

NEW YORK (AP) — Chinese tech company Huawei went so far as to steal a robot's arm in its bid to get its hands on T-Mobile's trade secrets, the U.S. government alleges.

The case over Tappy, T-Mobile's phone-testing robot, portrays a company going to what the government calls illegal lengths to gain access to others' intellectual property.

"This indictment shines a bright light on Huawei's flagrant abuse of the law," Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes in Seattle said in a statement.

The criminal charges in Seattle were announced the same day the U.S. government unveiled a case in New York that accuses Huawei, two of its subsidiaries and a top executive of misleading banks about the company's business and violating U.S. sanctions.