US Navy Officer Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison Over Scheme to Ship Military Boats to China

The seal of the United States Department of Justice is seen on the building exterior of the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

A U.S. Navy officer has been sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in purchasing handguns for the owner of a Chinese defense firm and for hiding the relationship, according to the Justice Department (DOJ).

Yang Fan, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, was convicted by a federal jury in November 2021 and sentenced on March 16.