Electronics Used in Military Radar & Electronic Warfare to China

On April 30, 2014, Yufeng Wei, a Chinese national, was re-sentenced to 23 months in prison, 2 years of supervised released, and $1100 special assessment. Previously, on September 10, 2013, Wei’s now exhusband Zhen Zhou Wu, also a Chinese national, was re-sentenced to 84 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release, $1700 special assessment, and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. Wei and Wu were re-sentenced for conspiring over a 10-year-period to illegally export military and sophisticated electronics used in military phased array radar, electronic warfare, and missile systems to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and illegally exporting sensitive electronic components to the PRC between 2004 and 2007, in violation of the Export Administration Regulations. After serving their convictions, both Wu and Wei, a Lawful Permanent Resident, will be subject to deportation to the PRC. On March 19, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed both Wei and Wu’s convictions on export violation charges for which a jury convicted them after a six-week trial in May 2010. The First Circuit vacated two counts of the convictions that charged Wei and Wu with illegally exporting parts designated on the United States Munitions List because it held that the jury instructions given were constitutionally inadequate. However, the First Circuit observed that “from 1996 until 2008, Wei and Wu shipped tens of millions of dollars worth of sophisticated electronic components from the United States to China with little regard for whether the parts that they sold were export-controlled.” Further, the First Circuit found that Wu’s company “specifically pursued military customers; and Wu promoted himself as both an exporter of military supplies and an export compliance expert.” Lastly, the First Circuit determined that “Wu and Wei repeatedly attempted to disguise the fact that they were exporting to China and that they lacked the necessary licenses to do so.” Because two counts of both Wei and Wu’s convictions were vacated, the case was remanded for resentencing hearings. Wei and Wu were originally sentenced in 2011. Wei was sentenced on January 27, 2011 in the District of Massachusetts to 36 months in prison, while on January 26, 2011, Wu, was sentenced to 97 months in prison. Their company, Chitron Electronics, Inc., was fined $15.5 million. Wei, Wu and Chitron Electronics, Inc. were convicted at trial on May 17, 2010. As proven at trial, defendants illegally exported military electronic components to China through Hong Kong. The defendants also illegally exported Commerce Department-controlled electronics components to China with military applications such as electronic warfare, military radar, and satellite communications systems. Wu founded and controlled Chitron, with headquarters in Shenzhen, China and a U.S. office located in Waltham, Mass., where defendant Wei served as Manager. Wu and Chitron sold electronics from the U.S. to Chinese military factories and military research institutes, including numerous institutes of the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, which is responsible for the procurement, development and manufacture of electronics for the Chinese military. Since as early as 2002, Wu referred to Chinese military entities as Chitron’s major customer and employed an engineer at Chitron’s Shenzhen office to work with Chinese military customers. By 2007, 25% of Chitron’s sales were to Chinese military entities. Shenzhen Chitron Electronics Company Limited, Wu’s Chinese company through which U.S. electronics were delivered to the Chinese military and other endusers, was also indicted. On February 9, 2011, Chitron-Shenzhen received a fine of $1.9 million for refusing to appear for trial. On July 22, 2010, co-defendant Bo Li, aka Eric Lee, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served for making false statements on shipping documents. The case was investigated by BIS, ICE, FBI, and DCIS.