An illegal immigrant accused of exporting shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items that were concealed inside shipping containers to North Korea was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison. 

Shenghua Wen, 42, of the Los Angeles suburb of Ontario, had been in federal custody since December 2024 before pleading guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Wen, a Chinese citizen, entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the U.S. illegally after the visa expired in December 2013, the Justice Department said. Before entering the U.S., Wen met with North Korean government officials at that country’s embassy in China where they asked him to procure goods on behalf of the communist state. 

Federal prosecutors said agents seized devices from Wen’s home. (Justice Department)

From January to April 2024, Wen sent emails and text messages to a U.S.-based broker about obtaining a civilian plane engine. There also were several text messages on Wen’s iPhone about price negotiations for the plane and its engine.

North Korean officials wired Wen $2 million to get the firearms and other items. He told investigators that he believed the North Korean government wanted the weapons and ammunition for a potential attack on South Korea.

With the money, Wen was able to pay for an armory and a federal firearm license for $150,000 and listed his partner’s name as the business owner to register with the Texas Secretary of State. 

In an effort to fly under the radar and avoid detection by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), he had others purchase firearms for him, authorities said. 

A North Korean flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A North Korean citizen was sentenced to 45 months in a U.S. prison Friday in connection with money laundering and other schemes to evade U.S. sanctions.  (REUTERS/Edgar Su)

“Once the straw purchasers gave WEN the firearms, he transported them to California, packed the firearms into a shipping container, and shipped the container to China, knowing that it would be transferred to North Korea,” court documents state.