2 Chinese nationals charged with defrauding Goodyear Tire

CLEVELAND (AP) - Authorities say two Chinese nationals have been arrested for allegedly accepting kickback payments while buying natural rubber for Akron-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.

The FBI says in a statement today that 40-year-old Xin Franco Fan and 41-year-old Rex Xu Yu were arrested Friday for honest services wire fraud. They are in custody and have detention hearings in federal court in Youngstown on Thursday.

Affidavits say Goodyear contacted the FBI on Feb. 1 about the two men, who worked for a Singapore-based subsidiary that acquires $1 billion a year in rubber for the company. The affidavit says Goodyear began an internal investigation after being told last summer about the alleged kickback scheme. It's not clear how much money was allegedly stolen.