First LastName Economic Espionage Case

Name

CHAO, Tah Wei

Guo, Zhi Yong

Employer

Printing Plus Graphics

Dates of Employment

Employee Type

Job Title/Duties

Military Rank

Clearance Level

Spying For

PRC

Codename

Spying Dates

Co-conspirators

Methodology

Purchased 3 thermal imaging cameras in the fall of 2007. Purchased 10 more cameras in March 2008 from FLIR Systems, Inc.

FLIR Systems repeatedly warned Chao that the cameras could not be moved outside of the United States without an export license issued by the Department of Commerce.

Possible Motivations, Problems

Finances

Identified/

Investigation

Investigating the men since August 2007, when an Oregon-based company informed them of an order for three of the cameras from a new customer -- Printing Plus Graphics of San Gabriel, Calif. Chao's printing business did not have any legitimate use for thermal imaging cameras.

Product of an investigation by the newly created Export and Anti-proliferation Global Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Task Force. The counter-proliferation task force was recently created by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in conjunction with federal law enforcement agencies to jointly investigate and combat the illegal exports of arms and sensitive technologies. The members of the EAGLE Task Force that participated in this investigation are: the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export and Enforcement; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Customs and Border Protection; the Diplomatic Security Service and the Transportation Security Administration.

Arrest Date/Location

Saturday, 5 April 2008, Los Angeles International Airport as they were preparing to board a flight to China.

Charges

Violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Export Administration Regulations by knowingly exporting and attempting to export restricted items without a license.

Attempted to bring 10 thermal-imaging cameras to the People’s Republic of China without obtaining the necessary licenses.

The thermal imaging cameras, which have potential military use, can be used to observe things not otherwise visible to the naked eye, and they are export-controlled for national security, nuclear proliferation and regional stability reasons.

Court

Central District of California, Los Angeles

Lawyers

Richard Goldman

David Bortman

Status

17 Jul 08: pled guilty to three felony counts concerning 10 cameras concealed in luggage bound for China in April this year and three cameras shipped illegally to Beijing in October 2007.

Sentence: 6 Oct 2008

Trial 19 August 2008

Date/Place of Birth

1956, PRC

1959, PRC

Citizenship

Naturalized US citizen

PRC

Residences

Beijing, PRC

Education

Family

Other Employment

Additional Bio

Documents

Two Chinese residents charged with attempting to bring export-controlled thermal-imaging cameras to PRC (DOJ/USAO press release, 7 April 2008)

Chinese Resident Pleads Guilty to Having Export-Controlled Thermal-Imaging Cameras Sent to China (DOJ/USAO press release, 17 July 2008)

Quotes

Case Links

BOOKS

Two men stopped from boarding a plane to China were charged Monday with trying to illegally export sensitive infrared cameras that authorities say are restricted because of their potential military uses. Beijing residents Zhi Yong Guo, 49, and Tah Wei Chao, 52, were named in a criminal complaint alleging they knowingly exported or attempted to export restricted items without a license, the U.S. attorney's office said......The men were arrested Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport after they tried to board a plane to China with 10 thermal imaging cameras in their luggage without the proper export licenses, the government said. The cameras, which are primarily used by law enforcement, fire departments and the military, are carefully controlled for national security reasons and are treated as munitions under the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations. They produce heat- based images invisible to the naked eye.....(AP, 8 Apr 08)

Two Chinese Charged Over Hi-Tech Cameras

Two Chinese men have been charged with breaching US export laws after being caught trying to take 10 thermal-imaging cameras out of the country illegally. The two men -- a Chinese national and a naturalized US citizen -- were arrested on Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport after the cameras which have potential military use were found in their luggage......(AFP, 7 Apr 08)

Charges Filed In Case Of Thermal-Imaging Cameras Found At LAX

Two men were charged Monday in Los Angeles with trying to take 10 thermal-imaging cameras to China without getting proper licenses, federal prosecutors announced. Tah Wei Chao, a 52-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, and Zhi Young Guo, 49, a Chinese national, were arrested early Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport.......(KNBC-TV, 7 Apr 08)

Men Accused of Illegal Technology Export Attempt

Two Chinese residents, arrested at Los Angeles International Airport over the weekend, face charges for allegedly attempting to export sensitive thermal imaging technology to China. Authorities arrested Zhi Yong Guo and Tah Wei Chao as they were about to board an Air China flight to Beijing early Saturday morning, after investigators found 10 of the cameras in their luggage......The men worked for a company, Printing Plus Graphics, in San Gabriel, Calif. After warning Chao several times that the cameras could not be moved outside the U.S. without an export license, a representative from the FLIR Systems corporation — which manufactures the devices — alerted Commerce Department officials last fall about several "red flags." One noted that "A print shop is not what I would consider an ordinary customer," the company representative told investigators in a September 2007 e-mail.......(ABC News, 7 Apr 08)

2 charged in LAX infrared cameras case