Westford Man Pleads Guilty, As Tyngsboro Cop Pleads Not Guilty

WESTFORD, MA – A Westford man pleaded guilty June 8 in federal court in Boston to conspiring to commit bank fraud and firearm charges just shortly after his co-defendant, a Tyngsboro Police officer pleaded not guilty June 8.

Bin Lu, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. He is scheduled to return for sentencing on Nov. 10. Lu was arrested and charged in January with conspiracy to violate provisions of the National Firearms Act.

Lu and Tyngsboro Police Officer Daniel Whitman, 36, of Pelham, N.H, had plans to build a large indoor shooting range, which would serve both regional and international customers, as well as offer shooting clinics and other services, according to court documents.

Lu said that he and Whitman brought in a Chinese investor, who contributed several million dollars to the project. However, in applying for loans from federally insured financial institutions, they hid the true source of their initial funding from the banks and filed false documents in connection with their loan applications, according to charging documents.

Lu also had a firearm that had been modified by the addition of a folding stock, resulting in its classification as a short-barreled rifle under the National Firearms Act. The gun was not registered to Lu in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by the National Firearms Act.

Lu and Whitman ran firearms training camps, consisting of shooting and tactics trainings, for Chinese tourists. Providing such trainings to foreign nationals requires a license from the U.S. Department of State, which Whitman and Lu never applied for nor received, according to court documents.

Whitman and others made YouTube videos on a channel operated by Lu that promotes Hitman Firearms, the range and the training camps.

On June 3, Whitman was indicted on charges of bank fraud and violations of the National Firearms Act and just moments before Lu's arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

The charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of possession of an unregistered firearm provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.