Chinese man sentenced to 8 years in jail for acting as North Korean agent
Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, Calif., was sentenced to eight years on Monday by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson for conspiring to illegally smuggle sensitive U.S. technological data and multiple shipments of guns and ammunitions into North Korea in exchange for roughly $2 million, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles.
He was initially arrested last year in December and has since remained in federal custody.
On Monday, Wen was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson after admitting to the concealment of contraband in falsified shipping containers bound for China.
Wen is a Chinese citizen who entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained illegally after his student visa expired December 2013.
He pleaded guilty on June 9 to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
According to federal officials, Wen reportedly met with emissaries at a North Korean embassy in China prior to entering the United States, where he was directed to "procure goods" on behalf of North Korea.
One weapons shipment was later transported from Hong Kong to Nampo, North Korea, after it was falsely reported to U.S. officials at the Port of Long Beach.
He was, officials added, contacted by officials from North Korea via an online messaging platform in 2022.
Authorities later searched his California home and found devices used to detect eavesdropping, among other items.
The multi-agency effort was a combined effort by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, DCIS and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brockton High School teacher accused of paying underage male for sex act, prosecutors say
A Brockton High School teacher faced a judge today after being arrested on sex trafficking charges. 35-year-old Matthew Cunningham, the high school's choir director, is facing charges of sexual conduct for a fee and trafficking of a person for sexual servitude, a Brockton District Court clerk told Boston 25 News. The Plymouth County District Attorney's office says Cunningham was arrested Tuesday morning in his Brockton home following a months-long investigation by Massachusetts State Police and Brockton police. Cunningham is accused of meeting up with an underage male on April 27, performing a sexual act on the victim and then paying the victim through an app. App administrators contacted the FBI after flagging the transaction between an adult and a minor. The FBI then contacted Brockton police. Cunningham was immediately placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest, according to a Brockton schools spokesperson. 'Our priority at this time is the safety and well-being of our students, and we are actively working to marshal the resources necessary to support the Brockton High School community, especially those who are feeling in any way impacted by this situation,' school district spokesperson Jordan Mayblum said. 'As we have more details about the support available to the BHS community, we will share that with families directly.' Cunningham pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday. He was held on $25,000 with the conditions that he stay away and have no contact with the victim or Brockton High School, that he stay off social media, that he surrender his passport, and remain in the state. Prosecutors requested that he be held on $50,000 bail. As the investigation continues, investigators will conduct a forensic examination of his cell phone. Cunningham will next appear in court on September 18. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dan Bongino Suffers Fresh Embarrassment After Epstein Files Tantrum
Dan Bongino will soon be sharing duties as co-deputy director of the FBI with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. The appointment by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, which Fox News reported Monday, comes after Bongino clashed with Bondi and threatened to resign over the Trump administration's handling of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the dead sex offender. Bailey, a staunch Trump defender who has been in the role since January 2023, thanked the president and Bondi 'for the opportunity to serve in the mission to Make America Safe Again,' he wrote on X, adding: 'I will protect America and uphold the Constitution." Bongino was selected to serve as the FBI's sole deputy director in February, starting in the role in March. Despite the apparent downgrade for Bongino, the former Secret Service agent and Fox News host posted a message of support for Bailey. 'Welcome,' he wrote, along with three American flags. When reached for comment, Patel told the Daily Beast in a statement that the bureau 'will always bring the greatest talent this country has to offer in order to accomplish the goals set forth when an overwhelming majority of American people elected President Donald J. Trump again.' He added: 'Andrew Bailey will be an integral part of this important mission and I look forward continued fight to save America together.' Bongino's break with Bondi last month, which stemmed from the FBI and Justice Department's review of the Epstein case, caused long-lasting headaches for the administration, with the president having to complain publicly about his supporters. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' he wrote on Truth Social. Weeks later, after the situation had cooled a bit, Bongino posted a lengthy yet vague message on X, which only led to more scrutiny from the public. 'What I have learned in the course of our properly predicated and necessary investigations into these aforementioned matters, has shocked me down to my core,' he wrote. 'We cannot run a Republic like this. I'll never be the same after learning what I've learned.' 'We are going to conduct these righteous and proper investigations by the book and in accordance with the law,' he added. 'We are going to get the answers WE ALL DESERVE. As with any investigation, I cannot predict where it will land, but I can promise you an honest and dignified effort at truth. Not 'my truth,' or 'your truth,' but THE TRUTH.' Bailey, as Missouri's top law enforcement officer, has taken no shortage of Trump-friendly positions. He argued against Trump's prosecution for mishandling classified documents, and in 2024 sued New York state to try to stay Trump's sentencing for felony business fraud. He also sued to block former President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, and investigated liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America after it reported on ads running beside pro-Nazi content on X. Bailey's appointment is set to take effect Sept. 8.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Manatee County sheriff: Traffic cameras show last known moments of Giovanni Pelletier
Following intense pressure from family members, the sheriff of Manatee County on Aug. 19 shared further details about the death of Giovanni Pelletier, including a traffic camera video showing the teen headed down an enbankment near the retention pond where his body would be found a week after his disappearnce. The case, which involved three different Florida jurisdictions, drew national attention as family members called the 18-year-old's death suspicious and called on the FBI to take on the case in the search for answers. Search parties had combed wooded areas and roadways in Brevard and Manatee counties in hopes of finding the former Mims resident. Pelletier, who was visiting Florida with his mother, went missing early Friday, Aug. 1, after he left Bradenton in Charlotte County — with cousins he did not know before the family arrived in Florida — to travel to Mims and meet relatives. His badly decomposed body was found Aug. 8, in a retention pond along State Road 70, by a family friend helping with the search. Traffic cameras recorded the teen "sprinting" along an embankment in Manatee, said Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells in an Aug. 19 press conference. "There's no one chasing him. He's by himself," Wells said. "What we don't know is what happened when he hit that pond. We don't know. The death is undetermined. We know we don't have anybody come down that embankment after him. He's there, we believe, until he was located by that family friend on Friday, the 8th. We really don't know what happened when he got into that pond." His investigators searched traffic cameras, pinged cellphones and interviewed witnesses who last saw Giovanni, Wells said. 'We really don't know what happened when he got to the pond; we don't have all the answers. We know that this is the last sighting of him that night," he said. Teen was born in Brevard; once lived in Mims Giovanni Pelletier was born in Brevard County and lived in Mims until he was about 4 years old, family members told FLORIDA TODAY. His mother, Bridgette Pelletier, moved to North Carolina with Giovanni. The teen's father, Antwyon Williams, is in state prison until 2053. In July, Bridgette Pelletier came to Bradenton for a family trip, with Giovanni set on visiting his father's relatives in Mims. Wells said Giovanni had been in contact with his cousins in Mims on July 31 about being picked up to see his father's family in Brevard County. The sheriff also said that Giovanni had talked about "smoking weed" with the cousins. 'I haven't had a smoke in a while,' Giovanni texted his mother, Wells said. Wells said that the cousins arrived in Charlotte County about 1:30 a.m. to pick up Giovanni in a white Malibu. On the road, the passengers — including Giovanni — began smoking marijuana, the sheriff said, adding that toxicology reports would help determine if other substances were involved. A last message: 'Help me' During the ride, at 1:55 a.m., Giovanni texted his mother, writing "Help," before sending another text a few minutes at 1:56 a.m. that said, "Help me," the sheriff said. After the car was stopped because Giovanni needed to use the bathroom, the teen began to act "enraged" once he was back in the car, one of the cousins told investigators. It was at that point, cousins said, that Giovanni, carrying a knife, began "tripping" again, shouting that he was a "demon" and that he would "kill them all.' He then attempted to open the door as the car was moving, they said, causing the driver to pull the car over on the east shoulder of State Road 70. The teen then got of the car and ran off southbound in the night, leaving his backpack and cellphone. The cousins placed the items on the side of the road near the entrance ramp to I-75 and then at 2:26 a.m. to call their grandfather, Wells said. They continued north on I-75, with one cousin calling Giovanni's mother at 2:27 a.m. There was no answer, the sheriff said. One cousin called the teen's mother again at 6:50 a.m., after they arrived in Mims. She answered and they told her what happened in the car and how Giovanni was behaving, Wells said. The mother then called the Manatee County Sheriff's Office to help find her son. 'I guess they had given my son some weed and he started to freak out and wanted to get out of the car,' Brigette Pelletier told a 911 dispatcher. Brigette Pelletier then traveled to try and find her son, using GPS to track his phone. It was located in Tampa with a truck driver who reported picking up the items along State Road 70. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office was then contacted to join the investigation, with Brevard deputies who searched the car in Mims finding no evidence of blood or other signs of foul play in the vehicle. Charlotte and Manatee County deputies searched the area near the interstate with cadaver dogs and a helicopter overhead with no results. A week after Giovanni's disapperance, on Friday, Aug. 8, the teen's body was found in the retention pond by a family friend who had joined search efforts. 'My son was recently found after a desperate search by OUR FAMILY ALONE, and we are still facing an active investigation into his death,' Brigette Pelletier said about her son's disappearance and death in an Aug. 9 social media post. An official cause of death has not been announced and the sheriff's office said results of toxicology testing could take weeks. No charges have been filed, Wells said. 'Our prayers continue to go out to Brigette and the entire family as they go through this difficult time,' Wells said. J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@ X, or Twitter: @JDGallop. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Manatee sheriff provides new details in death of teen who went missing Solve the daily Crossword
