NEW HAVEN – Authorities say a Chinese citizen has pleaded guilty in Connecticut to trafficking in counterfeit computer chips.
Daofu Zhang, 40, of Shenzen, China, pleaded guilty Friday in New Haven federal court to conspiring to sell counterfeits of sophisticated integrated circuits to a purchaser in the United States.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Zhang and his two co-conspirators each operated businesses in China that bought and sold electronic components, including integrated circuits.
In the summer of 2015, Zhang’s co-conspirator, Xianfeng Zuo, 38, asked the other co-conspirator, Jiang Yan, 33, to locate and purchase several advanced circuits that had military applications, including radiation tolerance for uses in space. Yan then asked an American to locate the circuits and sell them to Yan. The American explained that the circuits cannot be shipped outside the U.S. without an export license, but Yan still wished to make the purchase. When the American expressed concern that the desired circuits would have to be stolen from military inventory, Yan proposed to supply the U.S. source with “fake” circuits that “look the same,” to replace the ones to be stolen from the military.
In November 2015, Zhang shipped from China to the American, two packages containing a total of eight counterfeit circuits, each bearing a counterfeit label. After further discussions between Yan and the American, Yan, Zhang, and Zuo flew together from China to the U.S. in early December 2015 to complete the purchase. On December 10, 2015, the three conspirators drove to a location near Route 95 in Milford, where they planned to meet the American, make payment, and take custody of the circuits. Federal agents arrested all three at the meeting location.
Zhang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. He faced a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $2 million fine, but was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and a $63,000 fine. On March 7, Yan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, and one count of attempt to export integrated circuits without the required export license. On March 16, 2016, Zuo, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. They both await sentencing.
