Chantilly Woman Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

According to a statement released by the Department of Justice, Chun-Yu Zhao, 43, of Chantilly, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for "leading a sophisticated conspiracy to import and to sell counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment, laundering criminal proceeds and obtaining her citizenship through fraud."

At the sentencing hearing on Friday, Sept. 9, U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee ordered Zhao to pay $2,709,238 in restitution and a $17,500 fine.  Judge Lee also ordered Zhao to serve three years of supervised release after she's released from prison.

Zhao lost her U.S. citizenship and must forfeit the following assets to the United States:

• Four homes in Maryland and Northern Virginia and three condominiums in Chantilly with a total value of more than $2.6 million
• A Porsche Boxster, a Porsche Cayenne and a Mercedes sedan
• Seven bank accounts containing more than $1.6 million.

Zhao was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on July 22, 2010. She was convicted in May 2011 of 16 felony counts, including "conspiracy to commit importation fraud and to deal in counterfeit goods, importation fraud, dealing in counterfeit goods, obtaining citizenship by fraud, making false statements to law enforcement and money laundering."

According to the statement, Zhao, her family and other co-conspirators in China lied on declaration forms and sold shipments of counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment. They used false labels and packaging to mislead consumers into buying the fake Cisco products. 

Zhao and her co-conspirators hid millions of counterfeiting proceeds in various bank accounts and real estate that were held in her family members' names. Zhao also obtained her U.S. citizenship by lying on her application.  

ICE was originally alerted to the conspiracy after U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted the counterfeit products being shipped from China to addresses associated with Zhao, her family and her business.