In re Universities Space Research Association

Between April 2017 and September 2020, Jonathan Soong, a program administrator employed by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) to manage the sale and distribution of certain software under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, willfully violated export control laws by facilitating the sale and unlicensed export of flight control and optimization software subject to the EAR to a restricted Chinese university on the Commerce Department’s Entity List.  Soong used an intermediary to conceal the unlawful export and later fabricated evidence that he had performed due diligence on the purchaser before making the sale.

Upon discovering Soong’s crimes, USRA self-disclosed the crime to the National Security Division and fully cooperated with the ensuing criminal investigation.  Soong was charged in September 2022 and pleaded guilty in January 2023 to willfully violating export controls, and was subsequently sentenced in April 2023 to serve a term of 20 months’ imprisonment.

On April 23, 2025, the Justice Department announced that, because of USRA’s timely self-disclosure and extraordinary cooperation, USRA would not be charged, despite the criminal wrongdoing committed by Soong, a USRA employee.