American Military News by Steve Patterson - The Florida Times Union July 17, 2021
A Chinese business executive who wanted to copy American-made boat engines to sell to China’s Navy was sentenced Wednesday evening to 42 months in prison by a federal judge in Jacksonville.
Ge Songtao, who was indicted in 2019 along with a Jacksonville-based U.S. Navy officer and two people working for his company, pleaded guilty in November to two export reporting crimes authorities turned up during a three-year investigation that used foreign-intelligence surveillance warrants.
The sentence was more than federal guidelines prescribe but well short of the seven years prosecutors requested from Senior U.S. District Judge Harvey Schlesinger. The maximum possible sentence was 15 years.
The judge’s decision punctuated a case that has been shrouded by national-security precautions that led to dozens of documents being filed under seal to prevent public disclosure.
The sentencing leaves only one case unresolved from the four people indicted in 2019. Lt. Fan Yang, who had been assigned to a command at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, is scheduled to stand trial next month on charges involving gun crimes and lying about the extent of his connection to Ge.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/07/chinese-ceo-gets-prison-in-jacksonville-export-ploy-to-reverse-engineer-us-military-gear/
