A Chinese national living illegally in the United States was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for exporting firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. The sentencing took place in Los Angeles, where Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, received a 96-month sentence from United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson.
Wen pleaded guilty on June 9 to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He has been held in federal custody since December 2024.
According to court documents, Wen entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2012 but remained after his visa expired in December 2013. Before coming to the United States, he met with North Korean officials at their embassy in China and was directed by them to procure goods for North Korea.
In 2022, two North Korean government officials contacted Wen through an online messaging platform and instructed him to buy and smuggle firearms and other goods—including sensitive technology—from the United States to North Korea via China. By 2023, Wen had shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach destined for China en route to North Korea. He concealed these shipments by filing false export information about their contents.
One shipment sent from Long Beach in December 2023 falsely declared it contained a refrigerator; it arrived in Hong Kong in January 2024 before being transported onward to Nampo, North Korea.
In May 2023, Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston using funds provided through intermediaries by one of his North Korean contacts. Many of the firearms were bought in Texas and then driven by Wen to California for shipping.
By September 2024, under direction from North Korean officials again, Wen acquired approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition intended for shipment to North Korea.
The investigation revealed that Wen also obtained or sought various forms of sensitive technology—including a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver capable of detecting unknown or illegal transmissions—for delivery to North Korea. He also acquired or offered civilian airplane engines and thermal imaging systems suitable for mounting on drones or aircraft for reconnaissance purposes.
Throughout this scheme, about $2 million was wired from North Korean officials to Wen for procurement efforts.
Wen admitted knowing it was illegal to ship these items without proper licenses and acknowledged never having notified the Attorney General that he was acting under direction from the North Korean government as required by law.
The case was investigated by several agencies: FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes (Terrorism and Export Crimes Section) along with Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal (National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section).
