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发帖数: 5579 | 1 http://www.fbi.gov/baltimore/press-releases/2014/chinese-nation
Chinese National Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Technology
Products from U.S. Companies
Sought to Fabricate an Infrared Detector for Night Vision, Missile Detection
, and Other Military Applications
U.S. Attorney’s Office July 02, 2014
District of Maryland (410) 209-4800
GREENBELT, MD—Zhenchun Huang, a/k/a Ted Huang, age 51, a Chinese national
and naturalized U.S. citizen, formerly residing in Clarksville, Maryland,
pleaded guilty today to false personation of a federal employee and
obstruction of justice, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain
technology products from U.S. companies for export to China.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of
Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U
.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI); and Rick Shimon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S.
Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export
Enforcement.
According to his plea agreement, Huang worked as a contract scientist at the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt from February 1995 to June 2001. Thereafter, he
consulted on a limited basis until October 2003 to provide as-needed
assistance on a specific Goddard project.
In April 2001, Huang incorporated Allray in Maryland for the stated purpose
of forming joint ventures with Chinese governmental and private entities to
research, develop and distribute telecommunication and information
technology products. Though Allray’s principal place of business was listed
as Huang’s place of residence, its entire base of operations was located
in China.
During the latter part of 2003 and into early 2004, in an effort to obtain
technological components for use by Allray, Huang falsely represented to
three U.S. companies that he was employed by NASA and was working on a joint
project between NASA and Allray. No such joint project existed. The
components which Huang sought included cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) and
mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) wafers, considered dual-use technology
subject to U.S. export controls. These products were unrelated to Huang’s
former work at NASA.
In order to make it appear as though NASA was involved in procuring these
products, Huang directed that purchased items be shipped to an associate
employed at Goddard; used a Goddard e-mail account to communicate with the
companies and subsequently redirect e-mails to his personal e-mail account;
faxed (or had faxed) a purchase order from a number associated with Goddard;
and presented his former business card to companies that identified him as
a contract employee of NASA/Goddard.
In late October 2003, as a result of his false representations, Huang
obtained five CZT wafers from Company 1 and four silicon wafers from Company
2. Huang directed his associate working at Goddard to ship two of the CZT
wafers to Company 2 so it could apply a specific growth process to add a
layer of MCT to the wafers. Huang also directed his associate to buy 10
additional CZT wafers for $10,620 from Company 3. Thereafter, the associate
mailed to Company 2, from the Goddard shipping facility and at government
expense, two of the CZT wafers Huang had purchased from Company 1. The
associate also sent an e-mail from his Goddard e-mail account to Company 3
falsely stating that NASA would be purchasing, through Allray, the 10 CZT
wafers sought by Huang.
Company 3 subsequently determined that Allray was a Chinese company headed
by Huang, and that the shipping/billing address provided for the purchase
was a residential address. Accordingly, Company 3 did not sell the CZT
wafers, and the MCT wafers were never manufactured. If successful, the MCT
growth process requested by Huang would have fabricated a type of infrared
detector suitable for military applications, such as night vision and
missile detection, that would have been controlled for export to China. The
10 CZT wafers sought from Company 3 were similarly controlled for export.
In October 2003, Huang bought optoelectronic epoxy from Company 4. Huang
directed that the item be shipped to NASA/Goddard, thereby suggesting that
the purchase was related to government business. However, Huang provided his
residential address for the shipment. Between February and April 2004,
Huang tasked his associate with finding an optical filter that could be used
in ultraviolet applications. The associate used his Goddard e-mail account
to contact Company 5 to obtain a price quote, which he then forwarded to
Huang, but the filter was never purchased.
In the fall of 2005, Huang entered into an agreement with company X, which
was co-founded by his associate, to build a prototype ultraviolet non-line-
of-sight communications system for Allray. From December 2005 to April 2006
and in connection with its agreement with Huang, company X purchased 34
ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV/LEDs) from Company 6, at a total cost
of $3,556. The technical specifications of the purchased UV/LEDs, and the
manner in which they were to be used, suggested an application more
consistent with a covert communications device. Huang had initially
contacted Company 6 in October 2005, following an e-mail introduction by his
associate, to offer Allray’s services in packaging the company’s UV/LEDs.
Huang indicated that Allray was located in China, but falsely stated that
Allray’s customers were mainly in the United States. Company 6 did not
respond to Huang’s offer. Huang’s associate, who had dealings with Company
6 in his capacity as a NASA employee, never advised Company 6 of his
association with company X. In early May 2006, the associate demonstrated to
Huang a prototype of the device being built for Allray. At that time, Huang
was given two of the diodes obtained from Company 6.
On May 8, 2006, U.S. Customs officials at O’Hare International Airport in
Chicago inspected Huang and his luggage just prior to his outbound flight to
China. Two of the UV/LEDs purchased from Company 6 were found in Huang’s
luggage. Huang made false statements regarding who had given him the diodes,
what they were worth, what company had manufactured them, and how they
would be used in China. He also provided false information regarding the
technical specifications of the diodes.
Huang subsequently directed his wife not speak to, or ask, anyone about what
had happened at the airport; to say she did not know anything if questioned
; to throw away the box that had originally contained the UV/LEDS found in
his luggage; and to clean out their residence. In response, his wife threw
away the UV/LED box and certain Allray documents in their home. She deleted
all Allray-related files from their home computer, though she saved certain
Allray files on a thumb drive. The government recovered some of the
documents, including identifying and financial information for Allray’s
investors in the United States, Allray’s IPO plan, a 2006 PowerPoint
presentation charting Allray’s accomplishments in China, and an article on
a short-range, non-line-of-sight ultraviolet communication device.
Following the commencement of the government’s investigation of the scheme,
Huang absconded to China and was a fugitive until his arrest in London in
December, 2013. Feng Yan, age 46, formerly of Ellicott City, Maryland, was
also charged by indictment for his alleged participation in the scheme and
is currently a fugitive.
Huang and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea
agreement, Huang will be sentenced to 15 months in prison. U.S. District
Judge Roger W. Titus scheduled sentencing for October 20, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, HSI Baltimore and
Department of Commerce for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein
thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Manuelian, who is prosecuting the
case.
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