FACE DECADES IN PRISON AND MILLIONS IN FINES
Two men, HL, and LC, were recently charged with “conspiracy to illegally export U.S. technology … to prohibited end users in China.”
Apparently, the two Chinese nationals sought to circumvent export controls, and illegally sent machinery, which processed silicon wafer microchips, from the U.S. to their home country.
In a written statement, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division stated that, “As alleged, the defendants sought to evade export controls to obtain U.S. semiconductor manufacturing technology for a prohibited Chinese company …. 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.”
If convicted, the duo faces up to two decades in prison, and a $1 million fine, for their “conspiracy” to violate export laws and the same sentence and fine for their purported statutory violations; five years and $250,000 fine for “false electronic export information activities;” and up to a decade in prison and $250,000 fine for “smuggling.”
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Think those guys had chips on their shoulders?
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