3 weeks ago
The Justice Department connected Thursday announced nan unsealing of an indictment that charged 2 Chinese nationals pinch a strategy to illegally export U.S. exertion to a Chinese company. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
April 26 (UPI) -- Two Chinese nationals person been charged pinch colluding to illegally export semiconductor-manufacturing machinery to a prohibited Chinese company, national prosecutors said.
The four-count indictment unsealed Thursday accuses Han Li, 44, and Lin Chen, 64, of colluding from astatine slightest May 2015 and August 2018 to export a DTX-150 Automatic Diamond Scriber Breaker instrumentality to Changdu GaStone Technology Company.
Made by Santa Rosa's Dynatex International, nan DTX-150 Automatic Diamond Scriber Breaker is utilized to trim bladed semiconductors utilized successful electronics, and requires a licence and authorization to export to CGTC, which was added to nan Department of Commerce's Entity List successful August 2014.
Prosecutors said nan brace tried to get nan instrumentality for CGTC done intermediary Jiangsu Hantang International to obfuscate nan blacklisted Chinese company's involvement. The tribunal archive said nan Chinese nationals lied by presenting Jiangsu arsenic nan purchaser of nan product.
As portion of their efforts to conceal CGTC, Li and Chen told Dynatex to not database CGTC arsenic nan consignee of nan shipment.
"The export restrictions astatine rumor successful this lawsuit were put successful spot to forestall nan illicit procurement of commodities and technologies for unauthorized subject extremity usage successful nan People's Republic of China," U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey for nan Northern District of California said successful a statement.
Chen was arrested Wednesday successful Chicago, while prosecutors said they judge Lin is successful China.
They person each been charged pinch conspiracy to break nan International Emergency Economic Powers Act, IEEPA violations, smuggling and mendacious physics export accusation activities.
If convicted, they each look up to 20 years' imprisonment and a $1 cardinal good for each of nan IEEPA charges, 10 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 good for nan smuggling complaint and 5 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 good for nan export charge.
The indictment was unsealed much than six years aft a 2 group were charged pinch a strategy that illegally exported exertion and integrated circuits pinch subject applications to CGTC.
Yi-Chi Shih, of Hollywood Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty to nan charges and was sentenced to 63 months for nan conspiracy successful July 2021, while co-conspirator Kiet Ahn Mai, of Pasadena, Calif., was sentenced to 19 months aft pleading blameworthy successful December 2018.
