California man accused of shipping guns, ammunition and military devices to North Korea

A man living in Southern California has been accused of shipping guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and other military items to North Korea in shipping containers.

Shenghua Wen, a 41-year-old Chinese national illegally living in Ontario, California, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.

Violating the IEEPA includes breaking the law by doing business with a sanctioned country or individual despite the restrictions. According to the Legal Information Institute, it can consist of transferring funds, making payments or conducting trade with a designated entity, potentially leading to severe civil and criminal penalties.

If convicted, Wen could be sentenced to a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Court records did not indicate that Wen had legal representation as of Tuesday.

What did Shenghua Wen do?

According to an affidavit filed Nov. 26, Wen obtained the guns, ammunition and export-controlled technology to ship them to North Korea, which is a violation of federal law and U.S. sanctions against that nation, according to the Justice Department.

The shipping containers full of guns and ammunition were allegedly shipped from Long Beach through Hong Kong to North Korea by Wen and his unidentified co-conspirators, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Law enforcement searched Wen's home on Aug. 14 and seized two devices — a chemical threat identification device and a hand-held broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping devices — that he intended to send to North Korea for military use, according to the Justice Department.

A month later, on Sept. 6, law enforcement seized about 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen allegedly obtained to send to North Korea, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

US Attorney's Office: Photographs of guns found on Shenghua Wen's iPhone

When law enforcement reviewed Wen's iPhone, they learned that in December 2023 he had smuggled items from Long Beach to Hong Kong with their final destination being North Korea, according to the release. Messages from Wen's cell phones revealed conversations he had earlier this year with co-conspirators about shipping military-grade equipment to North Korea, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, adding that the some of texts included photographs of the firearms.

From January to April, Wen sent emails and text messages to a U.S.-based broker about obtaining a civilian plane engine, according to the Justice Department. Several text messages were on Wen's iPhone about price negotiations for the plane and its engine, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Who is Shenghua Wen?

Wen is considered illegal in the U.S. after overstaying his student visa, meaning that he is prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms or ammunition, according to the release.

Wen also does not have the required licenses from the U.S. government to export ammunition, firearms and the other devices that law enforcement seized at his home to North Korea, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.