But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in San Francisco still seems skeptical the government has lawfully served the Chinese entities under the rules of federal criminal procedure. Prior to hearing Thursday, White issued a tentative ruling quashing service of indictment against two of the four companies. He did not rule from the bench or indicate his views as to the other two entities.
White quashed service of indictment against the corporate defendants last year, sending the Justice Department back to the drawing board. Prosecutors have since tried again to serve summonses on the four firms that make up China’s Pangang Group, mailing the notices to last-known U.S. addresses for the corporations and even sending FBI agents to a conference on plastics in Louisville to confront a Chinese executive thought to work for Pangang.
