Wellesley Man Charged With Exporting Anti-Warfare Goods to China

BOSTON, MA — A Chinese native living in Wellesley faces allegations that he illegally exported U.S. goods to China and made false statements to obtain a visa and become a permanent resident.

Shuren Qin, 41, a Chinese national residing in Wellesley, Mass., was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of visa fraud and one count of conspiring to commit violations of U.S. export regulations. Qin was arrested Thursday and is due in federal court in Boston on Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

According to charging documents, Qin was born in the People’s Republic of China and became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2014. Qin operates several companies in China, which purport to import U.S. and European goods with applications in underwater or marine technologies into China. It is alleged that Qin was in communication with and/or receiving assignments from entities affiliated with the PLA, including the Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military research institute, to obtain items used for anti-submarine warfare.

In 2001, the Department of Commerce designated NWPU on its Entity List because of the national security risks it poses to the U.S. NWPU has worked closely with the PLA on the advancement of its military capabilities. From at least July 2015 to December 2016, Qin allegedly exported approximately 78 hydrophones (devices used to detect and monitor sound underwater) from the United States to NWPU without obtaining the required export licenses from the Department of Commerce, in violation of U.S. export laws. Qin did so by concealing from the U.S. supplier that NWPU was the end-user and causing false information to be filed with the United States Government.

As alleged in court documents, in 2014, Qin made false statements on his visa application. Specifically, he falsely certified that he had never “engaged in export control violations or other unlawful activity.” However, it is alleged that Qin engaged in numerous violations of U.S. export laws since 2012. In his petition to become a legal permanent resident of the U.S., Qin again falsely certified that he had never committed any crime. Furthermore, during a November 2017, interview with Customs and Board Patrol Officers, Qin stated that he “only” exported instruments that attach to a buoy. However, Qin had allegedly exported remotely-operated side scan sonar systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, robotic boats, and hydrophones. These items have military applications and can be used for weapon delivery systems, anti-submarine warfare, mine counter-measures as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities.

Qin faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of probation and a fine of up to $1 million for the charge of conspiring to violate U.S. export laws. The charge of visa fraud comes with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

Content from the U.S. Attorney's office was used in this story.

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