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

$10,000 fine, while Charles Lee was sentenced on Dec. 15, 2010 to 6 days in prison and a $3,000
fine. The Lees were arrested on Dec. 30, 2008 in Hacienda Heights, Ca, pursuant to a Dec. 16,
2008 indictment charging them with conspiracy to export and exporting national securitycontrolled
items without a license in violation of the IEEPA. The indictment alleged that the
defendants, doing business as MBA, an import/export business located in Hacienda Heights,
assisted persons in China illegally procure export controlled thermal-imaging cameras. During
the period between April 2002 and July 2007, defendants allegedly exported a total of ten
thermal-imaging cameras to China in circumvention of export laws. After being advised of strict
export restrictions, Charles Lee allegedly purchased the cameras from U.S. suppliers for
approximately $9,500 a piece by withholding the fact that the devices were destined to China. His
uncle, Sam Lee, then received the devices and, through his company, arranged for their shipment
to Shanghai, China without obtaining proper licenses. One of the recipients is alleged to be an
employee of a company in Shanghai engaged in the development of infrared technology. The
thermal-imaging cameras are controlled for export to China by the Department of Commerce for
national security and regional stability reasons because of their use in a wide variety of military
and civilian applications. This investigation was conducted by the EAGLE Task Force in the
Central District of California.
U.S. Missile Components to Iran – On May 13, 2010, Yi-Lan Chen, aka Kevin Chen, of Taiwan,
and his Taiwan corporation, Landstar Tech Company Limited, pleaded guilty in the Southern
District of Florida to a three count criminal information charging them with illegally exporting
dual-use commodities to Iran that have potential military applications. Chen was arrested in
Guam on Feb. 3, 2010. According to court documents in the case, customers in Iran affiliated
with that nation’s missile program sent orders by e-mail to Chen for specific goods. Chen then
requested quotes, usually by e-mail, from U.S. businesses and made arrangements for the sale or
shipment of the goods to one of several freight forwarders in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Once in
Hong Kong or Taiwan, the goods were then shipped to Iran. Among the customers in Iran were
buyers for Electro SANAM Industries, which serves as a front company for Aerospace Industries
Organization in Iran and has been linked to Iranian ballistic missile programs. Another Iranian
customer was the owner of the Noavaran Sooyab Sanat, Co., which is a division of Jahad
Engineering Research Center. Jahad Engineering Research Center has been linked to chemical
research and development facilities and has been listed as an entity of concern by the British
government for the procurement of weapons of mass destruction. In one e-mail with an Iranian
customer, Chen stated, “As you know we cannot tell USA this connector is for you. So we have
to tell a white lie to USA that this is for our factory in Hong Kong.” Among the dual-use items
that Chen caused to be shipped to Iran were 120 circular hermetic connectors and 8,500 glass-to-
metal seals. While the goods have commercial applications, they also can make a significant
contribution to the military or nuclear potential of other nations. Agents learned of Chen’s efforts
after he attempted to obtain and export to Iran some 2,000 detonators from a California company.
On Aug. 27, 2010, Chen was sentenced to 42 months in prison, while Landstar Tech Company
Limited was sentenced to one year probation. On Sept. 9, 2011, an amended sentence was issued
for Yi-Lan Chan, and he was sentenced to time served, 2 years supervised release and a $300
special assessment. The investigation was conducted by BIS and ICE.
Commercial 747 Aircraft to Iran – On May 11, 2010, Balli Aviation Ltd., a subsidiary of the
U.K.-based Balli Group PLC, was sentenced in the District of Columbia to pay a $2 million fine
and to serve a five-year corporate period of probation after pleading guilty on Feb. 5, 2010, to a
two-count criminal information in connection with its illegal export of commercial Boeing 747
aircraft from the United States to Iran. The $2 million fine, combined with a related $15 million
civil settlement among Balli Group PLC, Balli Aviation Ltd., the U.S. Department of
Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s
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