President, Employee of US Electronics Company Arrested for Illegal Exports

The president and sales representative for a U.S. electronics company were arrested for illegal exports to Hong Kong and China, the Department of Justice said Aug. 6. President Chong Sik Yu and employee Yunseo Lee used America Techma Inc. (ATI) to allegedly ship electronics components to the region, violating the Export Control Reform Act. Both were also arrested on wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Since at least 2019, Yu and Lee allegedly shipped export-controlled items from U.S. suppliers to Hong Kong and China, including items controlled for missile technology, nuclear nonproliferation and antiterrorism reasons, DOJ said. After one January export was detained by U.S. authorities, Yu and Lee allegedly discussed ways to evade U.S. export controls, including by transshipping packages through South Korea and using a separate company based in New Jersey.

One of their customers, a Hong Kong-based trading company, allegedly helped to advise Yu and Lee on how to evade U.S. export controls, DOJ said. The company allegedly told them to “obscure” ATI’s name on any labels, to cover each electronic component with an “electro-static discharge” bag and to remove “all original documentation from the package.”

In April, U.S. authorities detained a package shipped by ATI through the New Jersey company that was “consistent” with the Hong Kong company’s instructions. DOJ alleged ATI shipped more than 200 packages to the Hong Kong company August 2016 through July 2020, and ATI received more than $800,000 in transfers from the Hong Kong company during the May 2019 to June 2020 period.