US Engineer Pleads Guilty for Sending Nuclear Materials to China

A US citizen has pleaded guilty to conspiring to develop special nuclear material outside the United States without license, the US Department of Justice said in a release on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Szuhsiung Ho, aka Allen Ho, 66, a naturalized US citizen and engineer, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the development of special nuclear material in violation of the Atomic Energy Act, according to the release.

"According to documents filed in the case, beginning in 1997 and continuing through April 2016, Ho conspired with others to engage or participate in the development or production of special nuclear material in China, without specific authorization to do so," the release stated.

Ho was a nuclear engineer, employed as a consultant by China General Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC), the largest nuclear power company in China and was also the owner of Energy Technology International, the release explained.

"Ho assisted CGNPC in procuring US-based nuclear engineers to assist CGNPC and its subsidiaries with designing and manufacturing certain components for nuclear reactors more quickly," the release also said.

Sentencing has been set for May 17, 2017 in the US District Court in Knoxville in the state of Tennessee.

Ho faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum fine in the amount of $250,000.

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