Carbon Fiber to China

On May 29, 2013, Lisong Ma aka “Ma Li”, was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to 46 months imprisonment after pleading guilty on May 30, 2013 to an information charging him with attempting to illegally export one or more spools of Toray T- 800 carbon fiber from the United States to China without the required licenses from the Department of Commerce. According to a complaint filed on March 29, 2013, Ma reached out to undercover law enforcement officers in February 2013 seeking carbon fiber for export to China. Ma then traveled to the United States where he met with undercover agents about obtaining samples of carbon fiber. Ma paid $400 for a spool of T-800 carbon fiber and allegedly arranged for it to be shipped via Federal Express from the United States to China, falsely labeled as “clothing” and without a license. The package was intercepted before leaving the United States. According to the Information, Type T-800 carbon fiber is extremely high-grade and is used primarily in aerospace and military applications. It is controlled for export by the Department of Commerce for nuclear non-proliferation and national security reasons. This investigation was conducted by the Department of Commerce and ICE.