Avon Lake Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Shipping Components Used in Infrared Rifle Scopes to South Korea

An Ohio man pleaded guilty to illegally shipping components used in infrared rifle scopes to South Korea, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

Kue Sang Chun, age 67, of Avon Lake, Ohio, pleaded guilty to with one count of exporting defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List without first obtaining an export license or written authorization from the U.S. Department of State, and one count of knowingly making and subscribing a false U.S. Individual Income Tax return.

Chun is a former employee at the NASA Glenn Research Center, though he is not accused of taking technology or related materials from there.

Chun knowingly exported and caused the export from the United States to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) of Infra Red Focal Plane Array detectors and Infra Red camera engines which were designated as defense articles on the United States Munitions List. He did so without first obtaining an export license or written authorization for such export from the U.S. Department of State, according to court documents.

He also knowingly made and subscribed a false U.S. Individual Income Tax return for the year 2005, which failed to report approximately $83,399.08 of taxable income he earned during said tax year, according to court documents.

Chun is scheduled to be sentenced April 14, 2011.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Justin E. Herdman of the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Cleveland Offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations.