Chinese national charged in export scheme

A Chinese national Wednesday was charged in federal court in Brooklyn with trying to illegally export specialized carbon-fiber that may have been intended for use in Chinese military aircraft.

Ming Suan Zhang, 40, was accused of violating the U.S. Export Control Act after being caught in an undercover operation. He allegedly said in a secretly recorded conversation the material -- which costs $2 million a ton -- was needed in connection with the scheduled test flight of a Chinese fighter plane.

Court filings indicated that Zhang was working with two Taiwanese accomplices, but alleged no official connections to the Chinese government. The case is being handled by Brooklyn prosecutors and a lawyer from the Justice Department's Counterespionage Section.

Prosecutors refused to say when or where Zhang was arrested, or how he was brought to Brooklyn. His court-appointed attorney, Daniel Nobel, said the government viewed the case as "somewhat sensitive" and wanted the information kept secret.

Nobel said his client worked for a manufacturer of sports equipment that used carbon fiber.

"He's an honest businessman caught up in a transaction he didn't fully understand and that he believed to be legal," Nobel said.

In a brief court appearance, Zhang said through a translator, "I am innocent."

He was detained without bail and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.