A Chinese national accused of exporting military items to North Korea has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison, the United States Department of Justice announced Monday.
Shenghua Wen, 42, was arrested last December on allegations that he illegally exported firearms, ammunition and other military items to the dictatorship on the direction of North Korean government officials.
Wen shipped the contraband inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, and was paid as much as $2 million for these efforts, the DOJ said.
In June, he pleaded guilty to one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Wen was a resident of Ontario at the time of his arrest, but DOJ officials say he is a Chinese citizen who is in the country illegally after overstaying a student Visa that expired in 2012.
His first known contact with North Korean officials happened in China at the North Korean embassy prior to arriving in the U.S., officials said.
Over the span of several years, he was directed to acquire and ship goods for the North Korean government, including firearms, ammunition and sensitive technology, which he shipped to China to be rerouted to North Korea.
In 2023, he shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach, concealing what was inside by falsifying shipping documents.
In May 2023, using money from his North Korean contacts, Wen purchased an entire firearms business in Houston, Texas. He then drove those firearms to California to be shipped overseas.
Later that year, one of those shipments, falsely identified as containing a refrigerator, arrived in Hong Kong before being ultimately directed to Nampo, North Korea.
In September 2024, months before his arrest, he bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition with intention to ship it to North Korea.
Wen also allegedly obtained sensitive technology, including a device that detects chemical threats and a handheld broadband receiver, which he planned to deliver to North Korea. He was arrested before those shipments were made.
Justice Department officials said he also offered to obtain a civilian airplane engine, as well as a a thermal imaging system that can be mounted on a drone, helicopter or other aircraft, which could be used for “reconnaissance and target identification.”
In June, as part of a plea deal, Wen admitted to committing the crimes at the direction of North Korean officials. He also admitted that he knew at all times it was illegal to ship firearms and other items to the country, and admitted to never having the appropriate licenses required to do so.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.