/crime
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Chinese-born U.S. physicist and businessman pleaded guilty Monday to bribing Chinese space program officials and illegally providing U.S. space launch data to the Beijing government.
Shu Quan-Sheng, 68, of Newport News, Virginia, admitted his role before a federal judge in Norfolk. Authorities said the naturalized citizen had been the subject of a FBI counterintelligence investigation from 2003 to 2007.
Under the plea deal, Shu admitted he had on three occasions offered bribes totaling nearly $200,000 on behalf of a client firm that ultimately won a $4 million contract.
Shu also pleaded guilty to illegally exporting to the People's Republic of China technical data for design of a fueling system to be used to launch satellites and space stations into orbit.
He admitted separately providing to the Chinese government a document containing controlled military technical data on space launch instruments.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia said Shu faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for the export control violations, and up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the bribery conviction.
All About Space Technology • International Space Station • China
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