A federal judge in Los Angeles has sentenced Chinese national Shenghua Wen to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and acting as an illegal agent of North Korea. Wen, who entered the United States on a student visa in 2012 and remained after it expired, has been in custody since December 2024 and faced a potential 20-year term. Prosecutors said North Korean officials wired Wen about $2 million and directed him to acquire U.S. firearms, ammunition and sensitive technology. In 2023 he shipped at least two containers from the Port of Long Beach to North Korea via Hong Kong, mislabeling the cargo as household goods. Wen also bought a Texas-registered gun dealership, Super Armory, for $150,000 and used straw purchasers to obtain weapons that were later concealed in the shipments. When agents searched Wen’s Ontario, California, home, they seized 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition along with a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping equipment—items investigators say were earmarked for North Korean military use. The case highlights Pyongyang’s continued attempts to evade United Nations and U.S. arms embargoes as it modernizes its arsenal. U.S. officials said the eight-year sentence reflects the gravity of the offense while acknowledging Wen’s cooperation following his June 2025 plea agreement.