Taiwanese National Sentenced to Two Years for Helping to Export Military Parts to Iran
A Taiwanese national was sentenced to two years in prison Oct. 24 for helping to obtain and export military sensitive parts for Iran, in violation of the Iranian trade embargo, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The indictment charged Susan Yip, 35, a citizen of Taiwan, along with Mehrdad Foomanie (aka Frank Foomanie) of Iran, and Merdad Ansari of the United Arab Emirates, with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transaction Regulations, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Yip had pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge July 20, admitting that from Oct. 9, 2007 to June 15, 2011, she acted as a broker and conduit for Foomanie to buy items in the United States and have them unlawfully shipped to Iran.
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According to the indictment, Foomanie also bought or attempted to buy items in the U.S. and arranged to have them unlawfully shipped to Iran through his companies in Iran (Sazgan Ertebat Co. Ltd, and Morvarid Shargh Co. Ltd.); in Hong Kong (Panda Semiconductor and Foang Tech Inc., aka Ofogh Electronics Co.); and, in China (Ninehead Bird Semiconductor). The indictment also alleges that Ansari attempted to transship and transshipped cargo obtained from the U.S. by Yip and Foohmanie using Ansari's company, Gulf Gate Sea Cargo L.L.C., located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In her guilty plea, Yip admitted to primarily using her companies in Taiwan (Hivocal Technology Company Ltd., Enrich Ever Technologies Co. Ltd., and Kuang-Su Corporation), and in Hong Kong (Infinity Wise Technology, Well Smart (HK) Technology, Pinky Trading Co. Ltd., and Wise Smart (HK) Electronics Limited) to carry out the fraudulent scheme, ICE said.
According to court documents, from October 9, 2007, to June 15, 2011, the defendants obtained or attempted to obtain from companies worldwide more than 105,000 parts valued at about $2,630,800 and 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 without notifying these companies that these parts were being shipped to Iran or getting the required U.S. government license to ship these parts to Iran, said ICE.
At no time did Yip, Foomanie or Ansari, individually or through any of their companies, ever apply for or receive either a required U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license or Department of Commerce export license to ship any item listed in this indictment to Iran, ICE said.
Iranian Transaction Regulations prohibit, among other things, the export, re-export, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran or the Government of Iran, of any goods, technology or services from the United States or by a U.S. person. The embargo also prohibits any transaction by any U.S. person or within the U.S. that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, any prohibition set forth in the Executive Orders.
Foomanie and Ansari remain fugitives. Upon conviction, each would face up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to violate Iranian Transaction Regulations, up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to launder money, and up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, ICE said.