The founder of a U.S.-based global logistics company pleaded guilty on Tuesday to knowingly shipping goods to sanctioned Chinese entities, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Richard Shih, 77, founder and former CEO of a California-based logistics and freight forwarding company, pleaded guilty to “conspiring to violate export laws by shipping goods to Chinese companies” on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, the DOJ said in a statement.
A federal district court judge is considering Shih’s sentencing, which could be up to five years in federal prison, the DOJ said.
According to court documents, between September 2018 and May 2022, Shih’s company, which has branches in Texas and elsewhere in and out of the United States, facilitated more than 1,000 shipments of goods from the United States to the company’s Chinese business partner Seajet and its alter-ego Hisiang, while knowing the Chinese freight forwarding company and its co-owner Ma Yunong had been sanctioned by the Commerce Department. …