Pen Yu, Wire Fraud, Florida 2024

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Tampa Man Sentenced to 3 Years and 8 Months for Wire Fraud and Biochemical Products Diversion

A Tampa man has been sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to defraud a biochemical company and divert products to China using falsified export documents. Pen Yu, 51, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on May 2, 2024.

According to court documents, Yu ordered biochemical products from MilliporeSigma, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, with the help of MilliporeSigma salesperson Gregory Muñoz. Yu falsely represented that he was affiliated with a biology research lab at a large Florida university, and MilliporeSigma provided him with over $4.9 million worth of discounts and other benefits. When the products arrived at the university stockroom, a stockroom employee diverted them to Yu, who repackaged and shipped them to China.

Yu made false statements about the value and contents of these shipments in export documents to avoid scrutiny. The scheme continued until MilliporeSigma compliance personnel identified certain orders as suspicious, prompting the company to retain outside counsel who voluntarily disclosed the misconduct to the National Security Division.

MilliporeSigma offered exceptional cooperation to the prosecution team, including by proactively identifying and producing documents to the government that established probable cause to search residences and electronic devices of culpable individuals. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Marcet for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $100,000, the proceeds of the wire fraud.

Yu was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William F. Jung on May 2, 2024. Co-conspirators Gregory Muñoz was found guilty on May 9, 2024, and Jonathan Thyng was found guilty on July 23, 2024.