Alex Yun Cheong Yue, Cesium Clock Smuggling, California

BOSTON — Alex Yun Cheong Yue, 69, of South El Monte, Calif., has admitted to smuggling high-tech cesium atomic clocks from the U.S. to Hong Kong in a scheme that bypassed federal export controls meant to protect national security. Yue pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit export violations, two counts of unlawful export and attempted export of U.S. goods, and one count of smuggling. Judge Indira Talwani set sentencing for Dec. 10, 2020.

The atomic clocks, manufactured in Beverly, Mass., are tightly controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce due to their critical use in global positioning systems, encryption programs, and defense and space applications. Between December 2015 and February 2016, Yue, alongside Wai Kay Victor Zee, 56, of Hong Kong, and his company Premium Tech Systems, Limited, conspired to illegally obtain and ship the devices without proper licenses. Yue used a front company, Ecycle Tech International Ltd., to falsely claim the clocks were for cordless phone R&D in the U.S.

On Feb. 19, 2016, the clocks shipped from Massachusetts to Yue in California. Just three days later, on Feb. 22, he rerouted them to Zee in Hong Kong. By Feb. 24, Zee confirmed receipt. Neither Yue nor Zee ever applied for the required export permits. The transaction flew under the radar until U.S. authorities began investigating suspicious procurement patterns tied to controlled dual-use technology.

In a second attempt, Yue tried to buy another atomic clock in December 2017. When the seller demanded an end-user certificate, he submitted falsified paperwork claiming the device would be used in a California calibration lab. He also falsely stated he had no intention to export it. But when the seller insisted on a site visit, Yue abruptly canceled the order. On July 13, 2018, he received a refund — and just three days later, wired that same money to Premium Tech’s Hong Kong bank account.

Yue now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the conspiracy and export charges, and up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine for smuggling. Zee and Premium Tech Systems remain at large in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. U.S. authorities say they are working through diplomatic and legal channels to pursue the remaining defendants.

The case was announced by United States Attorney Andrew Lelling, William Higgins of the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Garland, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s National Security Unit, is prosecuting. The charges are allegations; Zee and Premium Tech are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

RELATED: Albuquerque Trafficking: Two Minors Exploited

RELATED: 90 Pounds of Meth: Cali Man Faces Decades in Texas