Overview

• Shenghua Wen, 42, pleaded guilty on June 9 to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and acting as an illegal agent of North Korea.
• Prosecutors say he shipped at least three containers of firearms and ammunition from the Port of Long Beach to North Korea via Hong Kong using false export paperwork.
• Wen used about $2 million sent by North Korean officials to buy weapons in Texas, including by purchasing a Houston firearms business.
• He also procured sensitive military technology, such as a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver, for transfer to Pyongyang.
• Wen has been in federal custody since his December arrest and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on August 18.