Updated

Federal prosecutors say a former DuPont employee stole more than 20,000 confidential files from the firm to help bolster a consulting business he started shortly before his retirement.

Anchi Hou was put on house arrest after making his initial court appearance Friday. The 61-year-old from East Brunswick is charged with theft of trade secrets.

Prosecutors say Hou copied and stole the files last year from DuPont's manufacturing facility in Sayreville.

The files included formulas, data and customer information related to developments in flexographic printing plate technology. Hou also allegedly took photos in restricted areas of equipment and layouts used to make DuPont products.

Hou faces 10 years in prison if convicted. A telephone number for him could not be located Saturday and it's not known if he has retained an attorney.