A businessman in southern California was sentenced on March 30 to one year and one day in prison for illegally brokering sales of embargoed arms from China to the United States, and for falsifying the correlating tax returns. Xie Tuqiang pleaded guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act and filing a false tax return in 2019, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Under the scheme, Xie used his California-based company, Bio-Medical Optics LLC, to broker the shipment of defense equipment listed on the U.S. Munitions List and U.S. Munitions Import Lists. Those lists identify the regulated components and systems used in American military and space-based equipment. Federal law requires that those who manufacture or export the items on those lists obtain a license and register with the State Department. Xie never obtained a license nor registered with the State Department, the DOJ said. Additionally, the import of the …