Army Sergeant Gets 4 Year Sentence for Export of USML-Controlled Items w/o License
An Army sergeant was sentenced Oct. 30 to 46 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations violations, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fidel Ignacio Cisneros, 42, stole ITAR-controlled items while deployed for duty and, upon returning to the U.S., exported them without the required State Department licenses, ICE said.
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From 2007 to 2010, Cisneros served as a soldier in the U.S. Army where he performed various missions in Iraq and elsewhere,. During his deployment, Cisneros stole three Acquired Tactical Illuminating Laser Aimers (Atilla-200 lasers), an ACOG rifle scope and several other items, ICE said. He brought all of the items back to Orlando without first obtaining permission from the Department of Defense.
Using his eBay account, Cisneros auctioned one of the Atilla-200 lasers to the highest bidder, noting in the auction advertisement that it was "impossible to find on the international market," ICE said. Cisneros shipped the Atilla-200 laser from Orlando to a Japanese national in Tokyo in exchange for $3,200. The laser is listed in Category XII of the U.S. Munitions List, and cannot be exported outside of the U.S. without a license. Cisneros did not have the appropriate license or permission to export the Atilla-200 laser to Japan, ICE said.
In March 2010, Cisneros also auctioned several other items. He shipped a PEQ AN/PEQ-14 night vision pointer illuminator to California, a Thuraya Hughes 7101 satellite phone GSM+GPS to Kuwait, a Thuraya Satellite phone docker FDU 2500 to California and a PEQ/Atilla 200 rail mounted laser to Nevada, ICE said.
On Jan. 26, 2011, Cisneros admitted to ICE special agents that he knew it was probably wrong to sell the items and that civilians probably were not allowed to possess them, ICE said. That same day, agents recovered the remaining Atilla-200 lasers that Cisneros stole from the Army. Federal law enforcement agents in the U.S. and in Japan subsequently recovered all of the items, with the exception of the satellite phone, that Cisneros sold, it said.