The world of mobile game development is apparently even more cutthroat than you might think, as a disgruntled manager at Machine Zone Inc, the studio behind Game of War: Fire Age, has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly stealing trade secrets from his employer.

Game of War is a mobile MMO strategy game that is often compared to the more popular Clash of Clans and is perhaps best known for its advertisements featuring Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, 42-year-old Jing Zeng, a director of global infrastructure at Game of War developer Machine Zone, was arrested last week after allegedly threatening to distribute data he had downloaded from proprietary Game of War servers. The data Zeng had obtained tracked how users interacted with the game, including information on how users spend money on the game’s in-app purchases which could “provide valuable insight and a huge competitive advantage over other online game providers and competitors.”

Machine Zone had filed a complaint against Zeng earlier this year for attempting to use the stolen data as a bargaining chip while trying to negotiate a better severance package from the studio. Zeng, a naturalized American citizen, was arrested by the FBI last week as he allegedly attempted to board a flight to Beijing.

Zeng has since been released on $100,000 bail and is currently under electronic monitoring as he awaits trial for stealing trade secrets, which could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000. There are currently no details on whether Zeng had planned to sell the data to any of Machine Zone’s competitors, or if he had simply been using it as leverage against his former employer.

This is not the only legal headache currently facing Machine Zone. The studio also recently filed a suit against rival game developer Kabam Inc after a Kabam employee revealed knowledge of a document that Machine Zone considered top secret. The employee allegedly referenced information from the document while engaging in some out-of-hand banter at a party with Machine Zone CEO Gabe Leydon. The document reportedly contained information detailing Machine Zone’s pitch to investors when it was attempting to raise funding.

Image courtesy of Machine Zone