A Hollywood Hills, California, electrical engineer was sentenced Thursday to 63 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to illegally export chips with military uses to China, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations, said DOJ. Yi-Chi Shih, 66, was convicted July 2 and ordered to pay the IRS $362,698 in restitution for lying to the agency about his foreign assets, and also was fined $300,000. Shih defrauded a U.S. manufacturer of high-power broadband chips to gain access to the company’s confidential and proprietary business information, then used an accomplice posing as a domestic customer to buy the chips for U.S. use, said DOJ. “Shih concealed his true intent to export.” Attempts to reach Shih’s lawyers for comment Friday were unsuccessful.
Yi-Chi Shih, a Hollywood Hills, California, resident, was sentenced to over five years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally ship integrated circuits with military applications to China, the Department of Justice said July 22. Shih was convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations and fined more than $600,000 in fines and restitution to the IRS (see 1907020071).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four people and six companies that helped procure U.S.-origin electronics components and other “sensitive” goods for an Iranian military firm, the agency said Nov. 10. OFAC said the network of people and companies helped ship the items to Iran Communication Industries, which produces military communications systems, electronic warfare items, missile launchers and other goods for Iran.
Jenner & Block hires for Native American Law Practice include as partners Keith Harper, the practice's chair and who has worked on communications and other issues; and Robert Harmala, who works on intellectual property, telecom, media, advertising and other issues and also is chair, Government Relations Practice ... Ford Motor promotes John Mellen to general counsel, effective Aug. 1, replacing Bradley Gayton, who moves to Coca-Cola senior vice president-general counsel Aug. 31.
Jenner & Block hires for Native American Law Practice include as partners Keith Harper, the practice's chair and who has worked on communications and other issues; and Robert Harmala, who works on intellectual property, telecom, media, advertising and other issues and also is chair, Government Relations Practice ... Ford Motor promotes John Mellen to general counsel, effective Aug. 1, replacing Bradley Gayton, who moves to Coca-Cola senior vice president-general counsel Aug. 31.
The Department of Justice charged a California electronics company, its president and an employee with trying to illegally export chemicals to a Chinese company on the U.S. Entity List. President Tao Jiang, employee Bohr Winn-Shih and the company, Broad Tech System Inc., ordered the chemicals from a Rhode Island company before trying to ship the items to China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 55th Research Institute (aka NEDI) (see 2006030032), the Justice Department said July 20. The shipment would have violated the Export Control Reform Act.
An Iranian businessman was sentenced to 46 months in prison for illegally exporting carbon fiber from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said Nov. 14. Behzad Pourghannad worked with two others between 2008 and 2013 to export the carbon fiber to Iran from third countries using falsified documents and front companies, the agency said.
Los Angeles resident Yi-Chi Shih, former president of China-based Chengdu GaStone Technology Co. (CGTC), was found guilty of conspiring to illegally export semiconductor chips to China, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, DOJ said Tuesday. Shih gained access to a “protected computer” of a U.S. company that makes monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), before exporting the chips, which are used by the U.S. military for missiles and fighter jets, it said. Shih accessed the company’s computer systems with a co-conspirator by posing as a domestic customer looking to buy custom-designed MMICs that would be used only in the U.S., DOJ said. Shih illegally exported the ICs, without a license from the Commerce Department, to CGTC, which was building a MMIC manufacturing company in China, said Justice. CGTC was added to Commerce’s entity list in 2014, for “illicit procurement of commodities and items for unauthorized military end use in China.” Shih faces a statutory maximum federal sentence of 219 years.
Los Angeles resident Yi-Chi Shih, former president of China-based Chengdu GaStone Technology Co. (CGTC), was found guilty of conspiring to illegally export semiconductor chips to China, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, DOJ said Tuesday. Shih gained access to a “protected computer” of a U.S. company that makes monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), before exporting the chips, which are used by the U.S. military for missiles and fighter jets, it said. Shih accessed the company’s computer systems with a co-conspirator by posing as a domestic customer looking to buy custom-designed MMICs that would be used only in the U.S., DOJ said. Shih illegally exported the ICs, without a license from the Commerce Department, to CGTC, which was building a MMIC manufacturing company in China, said Justice. CGTC was added to Commerce’s entity list in 2014, for “illicit procurement of commodities and items for unauthorized military end use in China.” Shih faces a statutory maximum federal sentence of 219 years.
A Los Angeles resident was found guilty of conspiring to illegally export semiconductor chips to China, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Department of Justice said in a July 2 press release. Yi-Chi Shih faces a maximum prison sentence of 219 years.