The
U.S. Justice Department released the below information:
An
indictment was unsealed today charging two Chinese nationals, Han Li, also
known as Anson Li, 44, and Lin Chen, 64, with crimes related to a conspiracy to
illegally export U.S. technology, including a machine manufactured by a
California-based company that is used to process silicon wafer microchips, to
prohibited end users in China, in violation of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Chen
was arrested in Chicago yesterday.
“As alleged, the defendants sought to evade export controls to
obtain U.S. semiconductor manufacturing technology for a prohibited Chinese
company,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice
Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department is committed
to enforcing export controls and holding accountable those who seek to
illicitly procure U.S.-developed technologies that put our national security at
risk.”
“The export restrictions at issue in this case were put in place
to prevent the illicit procurement of commodities and technologies for
unauthorized military end use in the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S.
Attorney Ismail Ramsey for the Northern District of California. “This office
will continue to vigorously enforce the nation’s export laws, including those
pertaining to advanced technologies, to protect our national security.”
“This indictment puts an end to Ms. Chen’s alleged involvement
in a scheme to illegally export U.S. technology to China,” said Executive
Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “The
U.S. does not tolerate illegally exporting our advanced technology, and any
attempt to circumvent U.S. laws and regulations will have consequences. The FBI
and its partners will continue to seek justice in this matter.”
Federal regulations restrict the export of certain items to
companies, research institutions, and other entities identified on the
Department of Commerce’s Entity List. In August 2014, the Commerce Department
added Changdu GaStone Technology Company (CGTC), a company based in China, to
the Entity List.
As alleged in the indictment, between at least May 2015 and
August 2018, Li and Chen conspired to evade the export restrictions imposed by
the Department of Commerce on CGTC through the use of intermediaries to conceal
CGTC’s involvement with the transactions. Specifically, the defendants sought
to illegally obtain a DTX-150 Automatic Diamond Scriber Breaker machine from
Dynatex International, a Santa Rosa, California, company. The machine is used
to cut thin semiconductors used in electronics, also known as silicon wafers,
and under Department of Commerce regulations, requires a license and
authorization to export to CGTC. The defendants sought to acquire the machine
for CGTC through an intermediary company called Jiangsu Hantang International
(JHI), a proxy they fraudulently represented as the purchaser and end
user. To avoid detection, Li
and Chen instructed Dynatex International to ensure that the export information
associated with the sale did not list CGTC as the ultimate consignee of the
shipment.
Li is believed to be in the People’s Republic of China.
Li and Chen each are charged with the following offenses, and if
convicted, face maximum penalties as indicated: Conspiracy to violate IEEPA, up
to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine; false electronic export
information activities, up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine;
smuggling, up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and IEEPA violations,
up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. A federal district court judge
will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
and other statutory factors.
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and Department of
Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of
California and National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export
Control Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.