Australian man living in Washington DC pleads guilty to selling trade secrets to Russian broker

US department of justice says Peter Williams, 39, stole material over three-year period working for US defence contractor Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An Australian man pleaded guilty in US court on Wednesday to stealing trade secrets from his employer and selling them to a Russian cyber-tools broker. The US Department of Justice said on Wednesday that Peter Williams, 39, an Australian living in Washington DC, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of the trade secrets. The agency said Williams stole the material over a three-year period while working for a US defence contractor, including information on national security-focused software.