Yao Yi, president of Lion Photonics Inc. of Beijing, pleaded guilty last month to criminal arms export control charges that accused him of trying to send military fiber optic gyroscopes to China.

The US Attorney's Office said the State Department had denied Yi a license to export the gyroscopes to China. Yi and co-defendant Collin Xu tried to buy the instruments from an unnamed Massachusetts company and export them to Xu's company, Lion Photonics Canada, which would then send them to China without an export license.

Xu pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Yi faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine upon sentencing April 10.