Florida woman charged as a Chinese spy in 18-count indictment

Federal authorities have charged an Orlando, Fla. woman with spying for China in an 18-count indictment that they unsealed on April 21.

Department of Justice officials said that from 2002 until February 2014, Amin Yu, 53, obtained marine submersible vehicle technology from U.S., Canadian and European companies and illegally exported it to co-conspirators working for Harbin Engineering University, a Chinese state-owned entity.

Related:Read the indictment

"Yu proceeded to illegally export the systems and components to China for use by her co-conspirators in the development of marine submersible vehicles – unmanned underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles – for HEU and other state-controlled entities," DOJ officials said in a statement.

The indictment alleges that Yu formed two companies, Amin International and IFour International, in order to obtain the submersible components with money wire-transferred from the People's Republic of China.

A Chinese national, Yu has been charged with "acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government in the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General, conspiring to defraud the United States and to commit offenses against the United States, committing unlawful export information activities, smuggling goods from the United States, conspiring to and committing international money laundering and making false statements to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

If convicted, she could face up to 20 years per money laundering count for a total of 100 years. Yu also faces 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and 5 years for each of the remaining counts.

She could also forfeit more than $2.6 million in traceable proceeds if convicted.

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