Japanese national Shota Yamamoto pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act through the export of firearms parts and tactical accessories from the U.S. to Japan without licenses, DOJ announced last week. The agency said Yamamoto planned to use the parts to retrofit airsoft equipment for sale to airsoft "enthusiasts" in Japan seeking "highly realistic equipment."
Kyrgyz national Sergei Zharnovnikov was sentenced to 39 months in prison for conspiracy to export U.S.-origin firearms and ammunition to Russia, DOJ announced last week. Zharnovnikov pleaded guilty in June to the conspiracy charge (see 2506260008) and now faces deportation, since he doesn't have lawful permanent resident status in the U.S.
Sergey Nechaev, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen who was arrested in December 2024 for trying to export two small aircraft to Russia (see 2412020056), was sentenced Jan. 15 to 41 months in prison for his role in the scheme, DOJ announced. Nechaev pleaded guilty in September to attempting to ship controlled goods without a license in violation of the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling and causing the submission of false information through Electronic Export Information paperwork in the the U.S. Automated Export System.
David Guimond of New Hampshire pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 to one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods into the U.S. after being accused of evading tariffs on his Chinese plastic resin imports, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire announced. Guimond's sentencing is set for June 11.
DOJ unveiled last week that it had seized two "mission crew trainers" in 2024 that allegedly were bound for the Chinese military from a South African flight academy on the Entity List. The agency made the announcement Jan. 15 while filling a forfeiture complaint for both trainers with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
An Indian national was sentenced Jan. 15 to 30 months in prison for conspiring with others to illegally "export controlled aviation components and a navigation and flight control system to end users in Russia," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced. Sanjay Kaushik pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to sell export-controlled dual-use goods to Russian end users.
Jinchao Wei, a former sailor with the U.S. Navy who was found guilty in August of illegally exporting military information and technical data to China (see 2508210039), was sentenced this week to 200 months in prison. Wei was convicted on several counts, including espionage and illegally exporting technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The U.S. declined to prosecute a criminal trade fraud case against global plastic resin distributor MGI International and its subsidiaries Global Plastics and Marco Polo International, DOJ announced on Dec. 18. The agency agreed to credit a $6.8 million payment made by MGI to settle a civil case against the company for knowingly failing to pay customs duties on plastic resin entries from China in its decision not to proceed with a criminal investigation for the same conduct.
Importer Wanxiang America agreed to pay over $53 million to settle claims that the company unlawfully avoided antidumping duties on its car part entries, DOJ announced. The settlement was filed at the Court of International Trade and resolves the government's customs penalty case against Wanxiang in which it was seeking $97 million from the company (see 2512180043).
A California customs broker was sentenced on Dec. 18 to 51 months in prison for defrauding importers, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced. Frank Seung Noah owned and operated customs brokerage Comis International and also was ordered to pay $7,579,141 in restitution.