A California resident was sentenced to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to smuggle counterfeit cell phone components from China, a July 9 Justice Department press release said. Chan Hung Le conspired with others to bring in counterfeit Apple, Samsung and Motorola products from China, generating over $18 million in revenue from sales in the scheme. The phone parts were brought in using mailboxes the conspirators set up with virtual office service providers in Oklahoma and Texas under a fake business name, JV Trading Solutions, from 2011 to 2015. The parts were then sold through online stores. “[Le]…orchestrated an elaborate scheme to deceive customs agents by creating covert shipping channels from Hong Kong and China to different U.S. states,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “From this conduct, and this deception, [Le] generated millions of dollars in profit. [Le] enlisted numerous other parties in his conduct -- including his romantic partner, his employees (witting or unwitting), other family members, and the unwitting virtual mailbox service companies." Prosecutors called it a "sophisticated, long-standing, and highly profitable offense.”

Zoulin Cai, a.k.a. “Allen Cai,” of San Gabriel Valley, California, pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to produce and ship counterfeit laptop computer batteries and other goods from China to the U.S., where they were sold online, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a June 29 news release. The batteries, sold on eBay and Amazon, were falsely advertised as new products, using brands such as Apple, Dell, HP and Toshiba to cover the counterfeit goods, ICE said. Fake lithium-ion laptop batteries carry significant safety risks, including risks of extreme heat, fire and explosions, the release said. The Chinese shipping companies covered the counterfeit trademarks with black tape to disguise the marks from customs officials. Cai admitted receiving over $3.5 million in imports and over $23 million in online sales along with his co-conspirators. Cai has an Oct. 4 sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Jose Rafael Vasquez of Dallas was convicted by a federal jury for attempting to ship firearms, magazines and ammunition to Mexico, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas said in a July 1 news release. Vasquez attempted to enter Mexico Oct. 15, 2020, through the Laredo Port of Entry carrying the firearms, magazines and ammunition in his vehicle. He was carrying three AK-47 rifles, eight semi-automatic handguns, 16 handgun magazines and about 4,700 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition. Trial testimony indicated that senior members of Mexican criminal organizations highly valued these weapons, the release said.

Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based engineering company John Wood Group, agreed to pay a penalty of more than $18 million to settle charges that it paid bribes to foreign officials in Brazil in exchange for a $190 million contract to design a gas-to-chemicals complex, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a June 25 news release. Amec Foster Wheeler was charged with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery portions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the release said. The company entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to resolve the charges, the release said. From 2011 to 2014, Amec Foster Wheeler conspired with other parties, including an Italian sales agent, to pay bribes to Brazilian state-owned oil company officials to win the high-priced contract.

Two U.S. citizens and three foreign nationals were indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles for conspiring to illicitly ship defense articles to Russia, the Department of Justice said in a June 21 news release. The goods, allegedly exported without a license in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, include thermal imaging riflescopes and night-vision goggles. The five allegedly obtained the items using false names and addresses, then shipped the articles to Russian co-conspirators, DOJ said. The nightscopes and goggles are regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, making their illegal exportation a violation of the AECA. Elena Shifrin of Mundelein, Illinois, and Vladimir Pridacha of Volo, Illinois, were arrested June 17 for their roles in the nearly four-year scheme. The other defendants are Boris Polosin of Russia, Vladimir Gohman of Israel and Igor Panchernikov, an Israeli national residing in Corona, California, during much of the scheme.

Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez, a dual U.S.-Mexico citizen and daughter of the leader of Mexican drug trafficking group Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, the Department of Justice said in a June 11 news release. Oseguera Gonzalez “engaged in financial dealings” with six Mexican companies that had been designated by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. She owned two OFAC-designated companies, J&P Advertising and JJGON S.P.R., and was a high-ranking officer at four other listed businesses. Oseguera Gonzalez's father, CJNG leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, and her uncle, Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, the leader of the Los Cuinis cartel, also were sanctioned by OFAC.

Peruvian citizen Hilario Renato Mendoza Beltran was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiring to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine and launder money for an international cocaine trafficking group. Beltran pleaded guilty to working as a Peru-based operative of the organization by transporting over $472,000 of the group's money and arranging the delivery of around 140 kilograms of cocaine to other operatives in Peru, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York said in a June 4 news release. The delivered drugs were shipped to Guatemala and Mexico and then smuggled into the U.S. According to the release, between 2014 and 2016, the Montreal-based operation collected the proceeds in Montreal from selling marijuana and cocaine in the U.S. and Canada, then used that money to purchase cocaine from various suppliers. The cocaine was then smuggled back to Canada and the U.S.

The State Department announced debarments against seven people convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act. The debarments, which will be imposed starting June 4, target Ronald Adjei Danso, Julian Alonso Higuera, Qingshan Li (see 2006150026), Si Mong Park (see 2009220055), Maritza Rubio, Wei Sun (see 2011180019) and Randy Lew Williams. All seven are “generally ineligible” to participate in activity controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for three years following their dates of convictions. At the end of that period, they must apply to be reinstated from their debarment before engaging in ITAR activities.

Tina Chen, a resident of Las Vegas and owner of electronics and computer components exporter Top One Zone, was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to export goods from the U.S. to Iran, the Department of Justice said in a May 28 news release. Chen allegedly worked with others to purchase and ship goods from U.S. companies through entities in Hong Kong to individuals in Iran without a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Chen hid the identities of the end-users, DOJ alleged. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export goods to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations -- a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Two Bolivian nationals and three U.S. citizens were arrested on charges of bribery and money laundering relating to payments made by a U.S. company and individuals to secure a Bolivian government contract, then the laundering of the payments through the U.S. financial system, the Department of Justice announced. Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman and Philip Lichtenfeld allegedly paid $602,000 in bribes to Arturo Murillo Prijic, the then-Bolivian minister of government; Sergio Mendez Mendizabal, the Ministry of Government's former chief of staff; and one other Bolivian official. The bribes were paid to secure a $5.6 million contract for tear gas and other non-lethal equipment between Bryan Berkman's Florida-based company and the Bolivian Ministry of Defense, DOJ said.