Nuclear engineer receives two years in prison for violating Atomic Energy Act

KNOXVILLE—On Thursday, Szuhsiung Ho, also known as Allen Ho, 66, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan to serve 24 months in prison and one year of supervised release. Upon his release, he will be supervised by U.S. Probation for one year. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000.

Ho pleaded guilty in January 2017 to conspiracy to unlawfully engage or participate in the production or development of special nuclear material outside the United States, without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy, in violation of the Atomic Energy Act, a press release said.

An April 2016 indictment charged Ho; China General Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC), the largest nuclear power company in China; and Energy Technology International (ETI), a Delaware corporation, with these offenses. At the time of his indictment, Ho was a nuclear engineer, employed as a consultant by CGNPC, and he was also the owner of ETI. CGNPC specialized in the development and manufacture of nuclear reactors and was controlled by China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the press release said.

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 from the U.S. energy secretary, as required by law. He assisted CGNPC in procuring U.S.-based nuclear engineers to assist CGNPC and its subsidiaries with designing and manufacturing certain components for nuclear reactors more quickly by reducing the time and financial costs of research and development of nuclear technology. In particular, Ho sought technical assistance related to CGNPC’s Small Modular Reactor Program, CGNPC’s Advanced Fuel Assembly Program, CGNPC’s Fixed In-Core Detector System, and verification and validation of nuclear reactor-related computer codes, the press release said.

Under the direction of CGNPC, Ho also identified, recruited, and executed contracts with U.S.-based experts from the civil nuclear industry who provided technical assistance related to the development and production of special nuclear material for CGNPC in China. Ho and CGNPC also facilitated the travel to China and payments to the U.S.-based experts in exchange for their services.

“The U.S. Attorney’s office is committed to working to ensure that sensitive and controlled technology is not illegally obtained and exported from the United States,” U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr said in the press release. “Violations of our export control laws will be aggressively prosecuted in the Eastern District of Tennessee.”

“Today, Allen Ho is being held accountable for enlisting U.S.-based nuclear experts to provide assistance in developing and producing special nuclear material in China for a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company. He did so without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Dana J. Boente said in the release. “Prosecuting those who unlawfully facilitate the acquisition of sensitive nuclear technology by foreign nations continues to be a top priority of the National Security Division.”

“Theft of our nuclear technology by foreign adversaries is of paramount concern to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Renae McDermott. “Along with our local, state and, federal partners, we will aggressively investigate those who seek to steal our technology for the benefit of foreign governments.”

This case was investigated by the FBI, Tennessee Valley Authority—Office of the Inspector General, DOE-National Nuclear Security Administration, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from other agencies. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles E. Atchley Jr. and Bart Slabbekorn of the Eastern District of Tennessee, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Trial Attorney Casey T. Arrowood of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Attorney Jeffrey M. Smith of the Appellate Unit in the National Security Division.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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