Columbus man sentenced to prison for illegally exporting goods to Iran

Defendant used Dublin shell company to export oil industry parts

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Central Ohio man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today for exporting gas and oil pipeline parts to Iran for more than a decade in deliberate violation of a U.S. embargo and trade sanctions.

Behrooz Behroozian, 64, of Columbus, was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Joseph M. Deters, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Douglas R. Hassebrock, Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.

Behroozian was born in Iran in 1955 and entered the United States in 1976. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1987.

According to the sentencing memorandum filed in this case, Behroozian used an intermediary company, Sumar Industrial Equipment, to attempt to cover-up that he was illegally supplying industrial equipment to Iran in violation of the Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Behroozian exported manifolds, valves and connectors used for industrial pipelines in the gas and oil refinement industry to Iran via Sumar and profited $35,000 to $40,000 per year. This violated embargo and trade sanctions, which have been imposed upon Iran by the United States since May 1995.

In November 2006, Behroozian became the owner and operator of a computer parts supplier in Dublin, Ohio called Comtech International. Comtech had no storefront and made no domestic sales. It seldom exported computer parts. Instead, Comtech primarily exported industrial equipment to Sumar in the United Arab Emirates for further exportation to Iran.

“Behroozian profited financially by strengthening the economy of one of the world’s most infamous state sponsors of terrorism,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “The parts obtained by Behroozian benefited the Iranian gas and petrochemical industry. Not only did Behroozian’s crimes diminish the effectiveness of American trade sanctions, but they also undermined America’s national security.”

“Behrooz Behroozian willfully violated export control laws by sending dual-use items to Iran, furthering their military and economic capabilities,” stated FBI Cincinnati Acting Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Deters. “The sentencing today is an example of the FBI's commitment to partnering with other U.S. government agencies to vigorously enforce laws designed to keep sensitive items out of the hands of nations and individuals hostile to the U.S. The FBI will continue these efforts to protect our national security and stop the illegal export of protected information and technology.”

“For over a decade, Behrooz Behroozian repeatedly violated export control laws and aided Iranian entities in procuring controlled components that have both commercial and military uses in deliberate violation of a U.S. embargo and trade sanctions.  With this sentence, he will be held accountable for circumventing critical U.S. laws designed to protect our national security interests,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Douglas R. Hassebrock.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by the FBI and U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Douglas W. Squires, Timothy J. Prichard and S. Courter Shimeall and Department of Justice National Security Division Trial Attorney Will Mackie, who are representing the United States in this case.

South Florida Resident Pleads Guilty to Selling Firearms to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, the ELN

MIAMI - A South Florida resident pled guilty today to illegally selling firearms to the National Liberation Army (ELN), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and a violent paramilitary group operating in South America.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI’s Miami Field Office, Diane J. Sabatino, Director, Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami Field Office, Ari C. Shapira, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office announced that Francisco Joseph Arcila Ramirez (Arcila), a Colombian national, pled guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B(a)(1).

According to court records, on August 16, 2018, Arcila instructed two co-conspirators to illegally purchase six firearms in Miami-Dade County on Arcila’s behalf.  These firearms included four Draco 7.62mm caliber AK-style pistols and two Zastava M92 7.62mm AK-style pistols. The firearms were then concealed in Husky air-compressors purchased by Arcila at a Miami-area Home Depot and shipped to Barranquilla, Colombia.  This shipment also contained approximately one hundred AK-47 ammunition magazines.

On Sept. 5, 2018, Arcila attended a meeting in Colombia, where he met with an ELN weapons broker to discuss the sale of the six firearms Arcila had recently shipped into Colombia.  In addition to agreeing to the sale of these six firearms, Arcila and the weapons broker further discussed other future sales, to include firearm magazines and firearm components in the coming months.  At the conclusion of this meeting, the weapons broker provided approximately sixty million Colombian pesos as the purchase price for the firearms.

Arcila is scheduled to be sentenced in Miami by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez on Dec. 19, 2019 at 1:45 p.m. (Case No. 19CR20036).  Arcila faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, a lifetime term of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of FBI, CBP, ATF and ICE-HSI.  This case is being prosecuted by Southern District of Florida Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy A. Hummel and Michael R. Sherwin, and by DOJ Counterterrorism Section Trial Attorney David Smith.

Saudi Citizen Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Concealing Attendance at Al Qaeda Training Camp and Visa Fraud

OKLAHOMA CITY — Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj, 35, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and a former resident of Weatherford, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for making a false statement to the FBI about his attendance at an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in late 2000, as well as for visa fraud.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, United States Attorney Timothy J. Downing of the Western District of Oklahoma, Special Agent-in-Charge Melissa R. Godbold of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Division, and Special Agent-in-Charge Ryan Spradlin of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.

"The U.S. Government identified the defendant after finding his fingerprints on an application to join al Qaeda that the U.S. military had gathered from the battlefields of Afghanistan," said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the National Security Division.  "We were able to match those fingerprints with fingerprints taken for his U.S. visa application and to determine that he had made false statements in that application in order to conceal his attendance at an al Qaeda training camp in 2000.  With the sentence imposed today, he will be held accountable for his crime and removed from the country.  I want to thank the military personnel, agents, analysts, and prosecutors whose dedication is responsible for this case."

"This case required thorough investigation and careful coordination among agents and prosecutors in a matter that is our highest priority—terrorism," said U.S. Attorney Downing.  "We are fortunate to have dedicated, effective federal law enforcement looking out for potential threats to public safety in Oklahoma."

"This investigation highlights the ongoing efforts of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force.  Together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the FBI is committed to defending the American people against potential acts of terrorism.  Today’s sentencing is a reminder that protecting the United States from the threat of terrorism remains the FBI's number one priority," said Special Agent-in-Charge Melissa Godbold of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office.

HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Spradlin said: “Our ongoing fight against terrorists depends upon our partnerships with many law enforcement agencies and sometimes takes years.  However, the United States has the resources, the will, and the patience to identify and pursue terrorists—despite the lies they tell to hide themselves.  Homeland Security Investigations frequently plays a key role in identifying and locating terrorists in our midst.”

On February 5, 2018, Alfallaj was taken into custody by the FBI without incident, based on a criminal complaint signed in the Western District of Oklahoma.  According to the complaint, the FBI found 15 of Alfallaj’s fingerprints on an application to an al Qaeda training camp, known as al Farooq, which was one of al Qaeda’s key training sites in Afghanistan leading up to the attacks of September 11, 2001.  The document was recovered by the U.S. military from an al Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan and included an emergency contact number associated with Alfallaj’s father in Saudi Arabia.

Alfallaj first entered the U.S. in late 2011 on a nonimmigrant visa based on his wife’s status as a foreign student.  He answered several questions on his visa application falsely, including whether he had ever supported terrorists or terrorist organizations.  Alfallaj has been detained in federal custody since his arrest.

On February 6, 2018, a grand jury in Oklahoma City returned a three-count indictment against Alfallaj.  Count One alleged that from March 2012 to the present, he possessed a visa obtained by fraud.  Count Two alleged he used that visa in October 2016 to apply for lessons at a private flight school in Oklahoma.  Count Three charged him with making a false statement to the FBI in an investigation of an offense involving international terrorism by denying, among other things, that he had ever visited Afghanistan.

Alfallaj pleaded guilty to Counts One and Three on December 14, 2018.  In particular, he admitted he possessed a nonimmigrant visa from March 2012 to early 2018 that he obtained by fraud.  He also admitted he falsely told federal agents during the December 2017 interview that he had never visited Afghanistan or participated in religious, tactical, or military training outside Saudi Arabia, and otherwise affirmed falsely that all of the answers on his nonimmigrant visa application were true and correct.  As part of his plea agreement, Alfallaj consented to the entry of a stipulated judicial order of removal from the United States at the end of any prison term.

Today, U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Alfallaj to 151 months in prison.  This consists of 120 months—the statutory maximum—for visa fraud and 96 months—also the statutory maximum—for making a false statement.  The court announced that 31 months of the false-statement sentence will run consecutive to the visa-fraud sentence, for a total incarceration period of 151 months.  In reaching this sentence, the court took into account Alfallaj’s pattern of deceptive statements and his inquiry on an online forum in 2013 about participating in fighting in Afghanistan or Chechnya, in which he used his nickname from the al Farooq camp.  At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge signed the stipulated order of removal.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI-Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes members from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the University of Oklahoma Police Department, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Edmond Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Dillon of the Western District of Oklahoma and Trial Attorneys David C. Smith and C. Alexandria Bogle of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case.