Suspect in Infrared Camera Case Gets Bail
A federal judge granted bail Monday to a Cypress businessman accused of trying to smuggle a restricted infrared camera from Los Angeles to China.
Jeffrey Jhyfang Lo, 52, was ordered released on $65,000 bond after a hearing before U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper.
Lo, a naturalized citizen born in Taiwan, claims he was a victim of government entrapment.
He was arrested Feb. 12 as he was about to board a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to China. Inside his luggage, customs agents found the camera, manufactured by Raytheon for military and commercial use.
In court papers, defense lawyer Richard Steingard said the government’s own secretly recorded tapes reveal that Lo told an undercover FBI agent:
“Personally, I don’t want to sell any device to China for a missile purpose because, I’m telling you, they’re going to use the missile to attack Taiwan.”
He said the undercover agent, posing as a Raytheon marketing manager, pressured Lo into taking the camera on the flight.
Lo, who must wear electronic monitoring gear while out on bail, is scheduled to go on trial July 18.
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