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Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Exporting Sensitive Technologies to China
BOSTON – Shuren Qin, 44, a Chinese national residing in Wellesley, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with illegally procuring and causing the illegal export of $100,000 worth of U.S. origin goods to Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military university that is heavily involved in military research and works closely with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the advancement of its military capabilities.
Shuren Qin, a Chinese national residing in Wellesley, who gained admittance into the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program in 2014, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export items from the United States to NWPU without first obtaining the required export licenses; one count of visa fraud; two counts of making false statements to law enforcement agents regarding his customers and the types of parts he caused to be exported from the United States to the People’s Republic of China (PRC); four counts of money laundering; and two counts of smuggling hydrophones from the U.S. to the PRC.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8, 2021.
“The People’s Republic of China has an insatiable appetite for our country’s most sensitive products and technologies – particularly those with military applications,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell. “By exporting key anti-submarine warfare products to a Chinese military university, Mr. Qin created a threat to our national security and broke the law. That warrants federal prosecution, without a doubt.”
“Qin took advantage of the open marketplace in the United States to purchase sensitive technologies for a Chinese military university. In addition, he lied on his visa application and to U.S. customs officers,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers. “When individuals illegally pursue personal profit at the expense of U.S. national security, DOJ will disrupt such conduct and punish those involved.”
Shuren Qin established LinkOcean Technologies, LTD., which he used to import goods and technology with underwater and marine applications into the PRC from the United States, Canada and Europe. NWPU has been involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and missile proliferation projects. Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has designated NWPU on its Entity List for national security reasons.
Shuren Qin communicated with and received taskings from NWPU to obtain items used for anti-submarine warfare. Between approximately July 2015 and December 2016, Qin caused at least 60 hydrophones (devices used to detect and monitor sound underwater) to be exported from the United States to NWPU without obtaining the required export licenses from the DOC.
Shuren Qin and his company, LinkOcean, did so by concealing from the U.S. manufacturer of the hydrophones that NWPU was the true end-user and by causing false end-user information to be filed with the U.S. government. In addition, on four occasions in connection with the export of hydrophones to NWPU, Qin engaged in money laundering by transferring or causing the transfer of more than $100,000 from Chinese bank accounts to bank accounts located in the United States with the intent to promote and facilitate his unlawful export scheme.
Additionally, in July 2016, Qin engaged in visa fraud in connection with his application to remove conditions on his U.S. Permanent Resident Status (Form I-829) by falsely certifying that he had not committed any crime for which he was not arrested since becoming a conditional permanent resident when, in fact, he had caused the illegal export of hydrophones from the United States to NWPU in December 2015.
In addition, Qin made false statements to federal agents on two occasions regarding LinkOcean’s customers and its export activities. Specifically, during a November 2017 interview with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers, Qin falsely stated that he
Defendant: Shuren Qin
Criminal Charges: One count of conspiracy to unlawfully export items from the United States to NWPU without first obtaining the required export licenses; one count of visa fraud; two counts of making false statements to law enforcement agents regarding his customers and the types of parts he caused to be exported from the United States to the People’s Republic of China (PRC); four counts of money laundering; and two counts of smuggling hydrophones from the U.S. to the PRC
City and State: Boston, Massachusetts
Exact Date: July 2015-December 2016 (crime date)
Sentence or Outcome: Sentencing scheduled for Sept. 8, 2021
Dollar Amounts: $100,000
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Export & Smuggling
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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