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

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United States to Iran via Dubai. Baniameri purchased these sets from an Illinois company and<br />

later exported them to Iran via Dubai. Mousavi also requested that Baniameri purchase and<br />

export to Iran, via Dubai, ten connector adaptors for the TOW and TOW2 missile system, which<br />

are used on the U.S. Army’s Bradley fighting vehicle and the U.S. Marine Corp’s AH-1W Cobra<br />

attack helicopter. Baniameri later negotiated the purchase <strong>of</strong> these items from an Illinois<br />

company for $9,450 and directed Telemi to assist him in this effort and to take possession <strong>of</strong> the<br />

items. To facilitate the export <strong>of</strong> these goods, Baniameri arranged to fly to Iran, but he was<br />

arrested before leaving the country. Baniameri conducted business via Pacific Green Valley, a<br />

firm in California, while Telemi conducted business as Oceanic Import Cars, Inc., a firm in<br />

California. On May 31, 2011, Baniameri pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally export goods<br />

and technology to Iran and to attempt to illegally export defense articles in connection with the<br />

TOW missile components and radio test sets. Baniameri was sentenced on Aug. 12, 2011 to 51<br />

months in prison. This investigation was conducted by ICE, DCIS, BIS, and IRS.<br />

Assault Rifles to Mexico – On July 24, 2012, Marino Castro Jr., was sentenced in the Western<br />

District <strong>of</strong> Texas to 20 years in prison followed by three years supervised release after pleading<br />

guilty on Dec. 2, 2010 to one count <strong>of</strong> smuggling and one count <strong>of</strong> felon in possession <strong>of</strong> a<br />

firearm with an obliterated serial number. According to court records, numerous defendants,<br />

under the direction <strong>of</strong> ringleaders Castro and Edward Levar Davis <strong>of</strong> Eagle Pass, TX, conspired<br />

to illegally purchase firearms from San Antonio area firearms dealers. Once retrieved from straw<br />

purchasers, Castro and Davis arranged to transport the firearms to a staging location in Eagle Pass<br />

where they were to be smuggled into Mexico to the Los Zetas drug trafficking organization.<br />

Between May 2010 and August 2010, authorities intercepted five shipments attributed to this<br />

trafficking cell and seized over 200 firearms, including handguns, AK-47 and AR15-style assault<br />

rifles and one .50 caliber Barrett sniper rifle. The case was investigated by ICE and ATF.<br />

Military-Grade Riflescopes Overseas – On July 13, 2012, Ge<strong>of</strong>frey Roose was sentenced in the<br />

Western District <strong>of</strong> Washington to 10 months in prison and two years supervised release for his<br />

efforts to sell military-grade riflescopes overseas via eBay. Roose was arrested on a complaint on<br />

Dec. 6, 2011, indicted on Feb. 22, 2012 and pleaded guilty March 28, 2012 to attempting to<br />

violate the Arms <strong>Export</strong> Control Act. Federal agents learned that Roose had sold exportrestricted<br />

rifle scopes to individuals overseas without the required license and warned him that<br />

such exports were restricted. Despite the warning, Roose continued to <strong>of</strong>fer the items for sale on<br />

eBay with no limitation on their export. He later sold one <strong>of</strong> the military scopes to an undercover<br />

agent who requested that it be sent to Europe. This case was investigated by ICE.<br />

Materials for Gas Centrifuges and Other Nuclear-Related Goods to Iran – On July 12, 2012, a<br />

grand jury in the District <strong>of</strong> Columbia returned a superseding indictment charging Parviz Khaki, a<br />

citizen <strong>of</strong> Iran, and Zongcheng Yi, a resident <strong>of</strong> China, for their alleged efforts to obtain and<br />

illegally export to Iran U.S.-origin materials used to construct, operate and maintain gas<br />

centrifuges to enrich uranium, including maraging steel, aluminum alloys, mass spectrometers,<br />

vacuum pumps and other items. Khaki was also accused <strong>of</strong> conspiring to procure radioactive<br />

source materials from the United States for customers in Iran. The indictment charges Khaki and<br />

Yi each with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),<br />

conspiracy to defraud the United States, smuggling, illegally exporting U.S. goods to Iran in<br />

violation <strong>of</strong> IEEPA; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Khaki was arrested on May<br />

24, 2012, by authorities in the Philippines in connection with a U.S. provisional arrest request<br />

stemming from a March 8, 2012 indictment in the District <strong>of</strong> Columbia. Yi, who is purported to<br />

be the managing director <strong>of</strong> Monalila Co. LTD, a toy company in Guangzhou City, China,<br />

remains at large. From around October 2008 through January 2011, Khaki, Yi and others<br />

allegedly conspired to cause the export <strong>of</strong> goods from the United States to Iran without a Treasury<br />

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