Texans Get 45 Months for Busting Sanctions

Zhenyu (“Bill”) Wang, 43, of Dallas, Texas, and Daniel Ray Lane, 42, of McKinney, Texas, were just sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a brazen scheme to sell sanctioned Iranian oil to China.

The pair was convicted at trial in November 2023 of attempting to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III handed down the sentences, a 45-month stint in the slammer followed by three years of supervised release for both defendants.

The scheme, which ran from July 2019 to February 2020, involved Wang and Lane working with co-conspirators to purchase sanctioned oil from Iran, mask its origins, and then sell it to buyers in China. They used various tactics to conceal the transaction, including obtaining Antiguan passports and opening offshore bank accounts.

Wang played a key role in the conspiracy, acting as the middleman between the Chinese buyers and the Iranian oil suppliers. He even arranged for bribe payments to be made to Chinese officials to facilitate the transaction. Lane, on the other hand, agreed to help launder the proceeds from the sale, using his business, Stack Royalties, to conceal the Iranians’ profits.

The conspirators planned to start with a 500,000-barrel shipment of Iranian oil, with the intention of increasing the shipments to 1 million or 2 million barrels per month for a year or more. They believed they would make significant profits from the scheme, with Wang estimating he would make $1.5 million in profit for each 500,000-barrel shipment.

The defendants were well aware that their actions were in direct violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran. In fact, both Wang and Lane made explicit statements acknowledging the illegality of their conduct.

Co-conspirators Nicholas Hovan, Nicholas Fuchs, and Robert Thwaites were also sentenced in connection with the case. Hovan received 12 months and a day in prison, while Fuchs and Thwaites were each sentenced to 10 months.

The case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of attempting to evade U.S. sanctions. As U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero noted, “the defendants’ actions were a brazen attempt to profit from sanctions evasion, and they will now face the consequences of their actions.”