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Richard Shih, Illegally Exporting Goods to China, California 2022
A California-based international logistics and freight forwarding company founder has pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate export laws by shipping goods to Chinese companies on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.
Richard Shih, 77, the founder and former chief executive officer of the company, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, which carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in federal prison.
According to court documents, as of September 2018, Shih’s U.S. company had an existing business relationship with Chinese freight forwarder Seajet Company Limited (Seajet). In September 2018, Seajet and its Chinese co-owner were both added to the Entity List for engaging in activities that were contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, to include unlawfully procuring and diverting U.S.-origin items to North Korea.
In addition, in June 2021, Hisiang Logistics Company Limited (Hisiang) was added to the Entity List as an alias for Seajet. Hisiang is the Chinese transliteration of Seajet. As a result of being added to the Entity List, a specific license was required to export goods from the United States to Seajet, its co-owner, and Hisiang.
Despite being aware of the Entity List, Shih and others at his company continued to transact with and export items to Seajet and its affiliates between September 2018 and May 2022. They conducted more than 1,000 shipments of items from the United States to Seajet and its alter-ego Hisiang.
Shih’s company used the funds received from Seajet’s co-owner and his affiliated businesses to pay various expenses on the transactions, such as air carriers and trucking companies, while retaining a portion of the funds as profit.
The FBI and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are investigating the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer for the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorney David J. Ryan of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Export Violations|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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