PHILADELPHIA, PA — Zhenyu (“Bill”) Wang, 42, of Dallas, Texas, and Daniel Ray Lane, 42, of McKinney, Texas, were found guilty of charges related to their attempt to transact in sanctioned Iranian petroleum and launder the proceeds. The verdict was delivered on Friday, November 17, 2023, convicting them for attempting to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), conspiracy to violate IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The trial evidence revealed that in 2019 and early 2020, Wang and Lane conspired to procure petroleum from Iran, clearly disregarding economic sanctions imposed by the United States under IEEPA. Their plan involved cloaking the petroleum’s origin and selling it to a refinery in China. To conceal their illegal transactions, the defendants resorted to tactics such as obtaining foreign passports, entering into sham contractual agreements, and conspiring to launder the sale proceeds through shell entities and offshore financial accounts.
Lane was specifically implicated in offering to use his company’s mineral rights to launder funds for the Iranian sellers, while Wang was accused of arranging bribe payments for Chinese officials and bankers.
Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, stated, “The defendants schemed to buy Iranian oil, hide its origins, and sell it to a refinery in China in clear disregard for U.S. sanctions against the Teheran regime.” He emphasized that violations of sanctions laws and threats to national security for personal profit would not be tolerated.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero reiterated this sentiment, condemning the defendants’ blatant violation of economic sanctions and national security interests. Richard Langham, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, pointed out the severity of the co-conspirators’ actions, stating that this verdict unequivocally shows the consequences of such harmful acts.
Wang and Lane face a maximum statutory penalty of 45 years in prison each, broken down into five years for conspiracy to violate IEEPA and twenty years each for attempting to violate the IEEPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for February 29, 2024.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Murray and Mary Crawley. Valuable assistance was provided by Beau Barnes and David Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
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