Major Export Enforcement Cases - Directorate of Defense Trade ...

were sentenced for attempting to smuggle four machine guns and 30 grenades to Mexico. The
investigation was conducted by ATF, ICE and Border Patrol.
Munitions to Mexico – On April 14, 2011, Sergio Perez-Contreras was sentenced in the Southern
District of Texas to 37 months in prison, while his co-defendant, Jose Jesus Miramontes-Duarte,
was sentenced to 30 months in prison for their roles in attempting to export munitions to Mexico
without a license. Both defendants were arrested on March 5, 2009 and later pleaded guilty to
exporting munitions without a license in June 2010. The defendants were involved in an effort to
illegally export 5,000 small pistol primers, 1,400 large pistol primers, 1,100 assorted calibers of
rifle bullets, 19 pounds of smokeless powder and two rifle barrel blanks – enough materials to
manufacture roughly 7,500 rounds of ammunition. The investigation was conducted by ICE.
Illegal Exports of Military Night Vision Technology to China, Singapore & U.K. – On April 12,
2011, the Justice Department announced that a government motion to dismiss the remaining
deferred criminal charge against ITT Corporation, the leading manufacturer of military night
vision equipment for the U.S. Armed Forces, was granted by the court. On March 27, 2007, ITT
Corporation pleaded guilty in the Western District of Virginia to two criminal counts of violating
the Arms Export Control act stemming from its illegal exports of restricted military night vision
data to China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom and omission of statements of material fact in
required arms exports reports. As part of the plea agreement, ITT Corporation agreed to invest
$50 million toward the development of the most advanced night vision systems in the world for
the U.S. Armed Forces. The Justice Department agreed to dismiss the remaining criminal charge
against ITT Corporation after ITT Corporation implemented an extensive remedial plan overseen
by an independent monitor to prevent future Arms Export Control Act violations. ITT
Corporation and the Justice Department will continue to work together to utilize resources set
aside by the deferred prosecution agreement to further the development and fielding of the most
advanced night vision technology. This investigation was conducted by DCIS and ICE.
Wire Fraud in Trade Secrets Case Involving China – On April 6, 2011, Yan Zhu, a Chinese
citizen in the U.S. on a work visa, was convicted in the District of New Jersey on seven counts of
wire fraud in connection with his scheme to steal confidential and proprietary business
information relating to computer systems and software with environmental applications from his
New Jersey employer. He was acquitted on the charge of conspiracy to steal trade secrets and
two counts of unauthorized transmission of trade secrets in interstate or foreign commerce. April
10, 2009, Zhu was arrested on charges of theft of trade secrets, conspiracy, wire fraud, and theft
of honest services fraud in connection with a plot to steal software from his former U.S. employer
and sell a modified version to the Chinese government after he was fired. Zhu was employed as a
senior environmental engineer from May of 2006 until his termination in July of 2008. Zhu
worked for a comprehensive multi-media environmental information management portal that
developed a proprietary software program for the Chinese market which allows users to manage
air emissions, ambient water quality, and ground water quality. Zhu was sentenced on Jan. 5,
2012 to three years of probation and a $700 special assessment. This investigation was conducted
by the FBI
Firearms Components to the United Kingdom – On March 28, 2011, defendants Charles
Shearon, Elmer Hill, Michael Curlett and Arnold See, Jr., pleaded guilty in the Middle District of
Tennessee to conspiracy and violations of the Arms Export Control Act. On Feb. 8, 2011, a
grand jury an indictment charging these defendants, another individual and a Nashville, Tenn.,
arms manufacturer with conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and other offenses in
connection with the illegal export and import of firearms and firearms components. The
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