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SoCal men accused of illegal China export, import

The Associated Press

Updated: 01/21/2009 02:40:42 PM PST

LOS ANGELES—A Southern California man is accused of illegally sending restricted electronics to China and conspiring with another man to sell counterfeit computer components in the U.S.

Michael Ming Zhang of Rancho Cucamonga and Pilicarpo Coronado Gamboa of Foothill Ranch both own small technology companies. The FBI says they were arrested Tuesday.

Zhang was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly exporting electronic components with dual civilian and military uses to China without an export license.

He's also accused of importing from China more than 4,000 counterfeit Cisco computer networking components valued at more than $3 million.

A second indictment accuses Zhang and Gamboa of conspiring to import counterfeit Sony electronics that were sold in the U.S and around the world.

The U.S. attorney's office did not immediately know if the men have retained lawyers.

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Two men arrested for exporting sensitive technology to China

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Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print 1 hr 15 mins ago AFP/File – A view of the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington. Two men were arrested in California for … LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Two men were arrested in California for their alleged role in separate schemes to illegally export controlled items to China and purchase counterfeit electronics for sale in the United States, the FBI said Wednesday.

Michael Ming Zhang, 49, and Policarpo Coronado Gamboa, 40, were charged in two separate indictments and arrested early Tuesday at their respective residences.

Zhang allegedly exported controlled electronics to his company's branch office in Shenzhen, China, and to a transshipment point company in China and Hong Kong, according to an indictment by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles.

The components require a special US Department of Commerce license for export because they can be used for military purposes. The items Zhang exported included components currently used in US army tanks, the FBI said.

The indictment also alleged that Zhang imported and sold in the United States at least 4,300 counterfeit Cisco Systems computer components, with an estimated retail market value of more than 3.3 million dollars.

Gamboa conspired with Zhang to import fake Sony electronics for distribution in the United States and around the world, according to a separate indictment.

Zhang and Gamboa appeared before a federal judge in US district court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the FBI said.

If convicted on all counts, Zhang could face a maximum sentence of 125 years in prison and Gamboa five years in prison.

In mid-January, a Chinese-born businessman was arrested for illegally exporting integrated circuits to China that could be used in military radar systems.

In late December, a Taiwanese-born man and his Chinese-born nephew were arrested on charges of illegally exporting thermal-imaging cameras, a national security controlled item, to China.

And in November, a Chinese-born physicist pleaded guilty before a US court to illegally exporting American military space know-how to China.

In 2008, US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell accused China of aggressive spying for sensitive US military technology.