A federal judge has sentenced an Alameda County man to 3 and a half years in prison after he was found guilty of selling $3.5 million value of counterfeit and substandard electronics to be used in military systems, authorities said.
The scheme by 63-year-old Steve HS Kim aimed to defraud the Defense Logistics Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail Ramsey said in a press release.
According to Ramsey, this electronics shall be utilized in a nuclear submarine, a laser system in an aircraft and a surface-to-air missile system.
“Our military needs to be confident that the equipment it receives is actually what it was purchased for,” Ramsey said.
According to court documents, Kim controlled Company A, which sold fan assemblies to the DLA. Ramsey said those fan assemblies were either counterfeit or used surplus parts that Kim claimed were latest.
Ramsey said Kim created the fake tags to trick the DLA into accepting the fan gatherings. According to court documents, Kim also gave the agency fake wanted papers that he created and signed under a false identity.
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