A Canadian national was sentenced for conspiring to illegally export U.S.-made technologies.
A 38-year-old Canadian national was sentenced this week in a U.S. District Court in Seattle to three-and-a-half years in jail for conspiring to illegally export U.S.-made technologies to Iran.
Ghobad Ghasempour was arrested on March 28, 2017, as he entered the United States at Blaine, Wash. An investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego showed that Ghasempour used front companies in China and co-conspirators in Iran, Turkey and Portugal to illegally export restricted technology products to Iran. He pleaded guilty to the charges in April.
During his sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said Ghasempour was motivated by greed and money, and that the unlawful export of goods and technology was to the “the Department of Defense for Iran — the very group that would be the most harmful to the United States.”
According to court records, between 2011 and 2017, Ghasempour and his co-conspirators illegally exported or attempted to export goods and technology to Iran that have both military and non-military uses, such as a thin film measurement system made by a California company that’s used in cell phones and missiles. Other exports included a North Dakota company’s inertial guidance system test table used to test the accuracy of gyroscopes of aircraft and two types of thermal-imaging cameras made by an Oregon company that can be used in commercial security systems and military drones. “Some of the items Ghasempour sought to export were intercepted by law enforcement,” the Justice Department said.
The Justice Department explained that Ghasempour and his conspirators falsified shipping documents and lied to the U.S. firms by claiming that the restricted items were being exported to end users in Turkey and Portugal, knowing that Iran was the actual destination of these goods. Payment for the transactions were made by the Iranian customers through Chinese front companies owned by Ghasempour and a co-conspirator.
Exports to Iran net prison time
