Shenghua Wen, a 42-year-old Chinese national and illegal immigrant living in Ontario, California, was sentenced on Monday to 96 months in federal prison for his role in the illicit export of firearms, ammunition, and a range of military-grade equipment to North Korea.
Los Angeles County, CA: Illegal alien and Chinese national Shenghua Wen plead guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Acting as an Illegal Agent of a Foreign Government.
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) June 10, 2025
"Wen is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China who… pic.twitter.com/U8YNmU8x8S
Wen, who has remained in federal custody since December of 2024, carried out the scheme by concealing the weapons inside shipping containers departing from the Port of Long Beach, California. In court, he entered a guilty plea to charges under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and to acting as an undeclared agent of a foreign government, according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Before unlawfully entering the United States, Wen met with officials from the North Korean government at their embassy in China, where he was asked to serve as a procurer of American goods on their behalf. He entered the U.S. in 2012 under the guise of a student visa and remained after that visa expired in 2013. Nearly a decade later, in 2022, two North Korean government officials reached out to Wen through an online messaging platform, directing him to acquire and smuggle firearms, advanced technology, and other goods from the United States into North Korea through China.
By 2023, Wen was carrying out those instructions. At the behest of North Korean officials, he oversaw the shipment of at least three containers of firearms. In order to conceal his role in these transactions, Wen deliberately falsified export documentation and misrepresented the contents of the containers.
In May of 2023, Wen bought a firearms business in Houston using money funneled to him through one of his North Korean contacts. From then on, many of the weapons he eventually sent to North Korea came out of Texas. Wen personally hauled them by car from Houston to California, where he then arranged for their shipment overseas.
The scheme didn’t stop there. In September 2024, Wen purchased about 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition, again with the intent of sending it to North Korea. And it wasn’t only guns and ammunition he was after. Wen also tried to get his hands on sensitive technology at the direction of his North Korean handlers. This included a chemical threat identification device and a broadband receiver capable of picking up known, unknown, and illicit transmissions. He also either acquired or sought to acquire a civilian aircraft engine, along with a thermal imaging system designed for use on drones, helicopters, or other aircraft, technology that could easily be put to work for reconnaissance or targeting.
North Korean officials wired Wen around $2 million to carry out the conspiracy, funds earmarked for firearms, ammunition, and high-value technology. In his plea deal, Wen admitted that he knew it was illegal to send these items to North Korea. He also acknowledged that he never had the licenses needed to export firearms, ammunition, or sensitive devices, and that he was taking direct orders from North Korean government officials.
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