The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, May 22nd, that Florida residents Pen Yu (Pen Yu, transliteration, also known as Ben Yu) and Gregory Muñoz, both pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud. The Department of Justice stated that the two individuals fraudulently purchased heavily discounted products from the biotech company MilliporeSigma and exported them to China using forged export documents.
According to Voice of America, court documents show that from at least July 2016 until at least May 2023, Pen Yu, with the assistance of MilliporeSigma salesperson Muñoz, ordered biochemical products from MilliporeSigma. He initially had these goods shipped to a university warehouse, then forwarded them to himself, repackaged them, and shipped them to China. To avoid scrutiny, Pen Yu made false declarations about the value and contents of the goods in the export documents.
The Department of Justice stated that by falsely claiming affiliation with a large university’s biological research laboratory in Florida, Pen Yu received discounts and other benefits worth over $4.9 million from MilliporeSigma. He also gifted Muñoz thousands of dollars in gift cards as a token of appreciation for his assistance in obtaining these fraudulent orders.
The Department of Justice disclosed that the illegal activities of the two individuals continued until compliance personnel at MilliporeSigma flagged certain orders as suspicious, prompting the company to hire external lawyers and voluntarily disclose the improper behavior to the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. The Department of Justice mentioned that MilliporeSigma also provided excellent cooperation to the prosecution team, including proactively identifying and providing documents that gave the Department of Justice grounds to lawfully search the residences and electronic devices of the guilty individuals.
The Department of Justice stated that due to MilliporeSigma’s timely self-disclosure and outstanding cooperation, the company will not face charges despite its employee Muñoz engaging in criminal misconduct.