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Counterfeit Chip Trafficker Caught in Connecticut
Daofu Zhang, a 40-year-old citizen of China, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell counterfeits of sophisticated integrated circuits to a purchaser in the United States. Zhang, of Shenzen, China, was arrested on December 10, 2015, at a meeting location near Route 95 in Milford, Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Zhang and his two co-conspirators operated businesses in China that bought and sold electronic components, including integrated circuits. In the summer of 2015, Zhang’s co-conspirator, Xianfeng Zuo, asked the other co-conspirator, Jiang Yan, to locate and purchase several advanced ICs made by Xilinx Corp.
The Xilinx ICs had military applications, including radiation tolerance for uses in space. Yan then asked a U.S. individual to locate the Xilinx ICs and sell them to Yan. However, the U.S. individual expressed concern that the desired ICs would have to be stolen from military inventory. Yan proposed to supply the U.S. source with ‘fake’ ICs that ‘look the same,’ to replace the ones to be stolen from the military.
In November 2015, Zhang shipped two packages containing a total of eight counterfeit ICs, each bearing a counterfeit Xilinx brand label, from China to the U.S. individual. After further discussions between Yan and the U.S. individual, Yan, Zhang, and Zuo flew together from China to the U.S. in early December 2015 to complete the Xilinx ICs purchase.
Zhan faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $2 million fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford on July 8, 2016. Jiang Yan, 33, and Xianfeng Zuo, 38, have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and await sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Kopel and U.S. Department of Justice Counterintelligence and Export Control Section Trial Attorney Casey Arrowood.
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: White Collar Crime|Cybercrime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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