The Inside Job: How It Allegedly Went Down
The timeline Apple presents reads like a corporate thriller. Starting in April 2025, Dr. Shi was “recruited by the highest levels of the OPPO Defendants’ leadership, including the President of its U.S. Research Center and its Vice President of Health,” the complaint states. But rather than simply resign and take his expertise elsewhere—which would have been perfectly legal—Shi allegedly embarked on something far more sinister.
According to the complaint, Shi lied to his Apple colleagues about his departure, “falsely claiming that he was returning to China to tend to his elderly parents and had no plans to seek new employment.” Meanwhile, he was secretly negotiating with OPPO executives about gathering Apple’s most sensitive information.
The smoking gun? A June 4, 2025 message in Mandarin from Shi to Dr. Zijing Zeng, OPPO’s Vice President of Health. The translation, according to Apple’s filing, is damning:
“I’m planning to start on 6/30. This week I’ll inform my team about my resignation. Lately, I’ve also been reviewing various internal materials and doing a lot of 1:1 meetings in an effort to collect as much information as possible—will share with you all later.”
Instead of discouraging this conduct, Dr. Zeng allegedly responded with approval—“alright” and an “OK” emoji.
