Major Export Enforcement Cases - Directorate of Defense Trade ...

who was responsible for control of the Venezuelan Military Acquisitions Office in Doral, Fla.,
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the AECA. Each of these four defendants was charged on
June 25, 2012, with conspiring to violate the AECA in connection with their efforts to export to
Venezuela U.S.-origin military aircraft engines and components from Nov. 2008 through Aug.
2010. According to the charges, co-conspirators residing in Venezuela and Spain advised the
defendants and other members of the conspiracy of specific defense articles that the Venezuelan
Air Force wanted to purchase. Some of the co-conspirators, including Pichardo and Brown, also
met with officials of the Venezuelan Air Force regarding these defense articles. The defendants
allegedly purchased and obtained the requested defense articles from various U.S. suppliers. The
defendants then made arrangements for the shipment of the defense articles to Venezuela. These
items included T56 military aircraft engines and components for other military aircraft, including
the F-16 fighter jet. Co-conspirators residing in foreign countries paid the defendants and other
co-conspirators for their assistance in obtaining the defense articles. This investigation was
conducted by the FBI.
Military-Sensitive Parts to Iran – On Oct. 24, 2012, Susan Yip, a citizen of Taiwan, was
sentenced in the Western District of Texas to two years in federal prison for her role in a
conspiracy to obtain and illegally export dual-use parts with military applications to Iran. A 17count
indictment, returned on June 15, 2012 and later unsealed, charged Yip, Mehrdad Foomanie
of Iran, and Merdad Ansari of the United Arab Emirates, with conspiracy to violate the Iranian
Trade Regulations, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On July
20, 2012, Yip pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Iranian Trade Regulations.
By pleading guilty, Yip admitted that from 2007 to 2011, she acted as a broker and conduit for
Foomanie to buy items in the United States and have them unlawfully shipped to Iran. According
to the indictment, Foomanie bought or attempted to buy items in the United States and arranged
to have them unlawfully shipped to Iran through his companies in Iran, Hong Kong and China.
Ansari allegedly attempted to transship and transshipped cargo obtained from the United States
by Yip and Foohmanie using Ansari’s company in Dubai. Foohmanie and Ansari remain
fugitives. In her plea, Yip admitted to primarily using her companies in Taiwan and in Hong
Kong to carry out the fraudulent scheme. The parts Yip obtained and attempted to obtain for Iran
were worth millions of dollars, and could be used in such military systems as nuclear weaponry,
missile guidance and development, secure tactical radio communication, offensive electronic
warfare, military electronic countermeasures and radar warning and surveillance systems. From
Oct. 9, 2007, to June 15, 2011, the defendants obtained or attempted to obtain from companies
worldwide over 105,000 parts valued at some $2,630,800 involving more than 1,250 transactions.
The defendants conducted 599 transactions with 63 different U.S. companies where they obtained
or attempted to obtain parts from U.S. companies without notifying these companies the parts
were being shipped to Iran or getting the required U.S. licenses to ship these parts to Iran. The
case was investigated by ICE, FBI, DCIS and the Department of Commerce.
Military Flight Helmets and Night Vision Goggles to Panama – On Oct. 23, 2012, Martyn
Caulfield, a British national illegally present in the United States, was sentenced in the Northern
District of Florida to two years in prison after pleading guilty on June 27, 2012 to a five-count
information charging him with illegally exporting defense articles, being an alien in possession of
a firearm, and money laundering. Caulfield purchased new and used military equipment,
including military flight helmets and advanced night vision goggles, and then resold these
restricted defense articles over an eBay auction site for export without the required State
Department licenses. During online discussions with undercover law enforcement agents,
Caulfield agreed to export military flight helmets and night vision goggles to agents posing as
buyers from Panama. The shipments were intercepted before they departed the United States.
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