News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
The arrests were made pursuant to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles that alleges a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy downloaded technical drawings and manuals related to U.S. military weapons systems and sold the items to a Newport Beach company, which later resold the documents to domestic and foreign customers.
On Feb. 24, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed Thai national Apichart Srivaranon, 35, to Thailand.
A five-count indictment returned Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Riverside charges Hatim Humeed Alsufyani, 36, and Mosab Alzahrani, 27, both formerly of San Bernardino, with one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods out of the United States without obtaining export licenses.
“This sentence is well deserved and further demonstrates the lengths of criminal activity by those who seek to engage in illegally obtaining sophisticated materials,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI Phoenix. “One of HSI’s top priorities is preventing U.S. military products and sensitive technology from falling into the hands of those who might seek to harm America or its interests. We will continue to aggressively pursue violators wherever they may be.”
Rami Najm Asad-Ghanem, 53, who was commonly known as Rami Ghanem, a naturalized United States citizen who was living in Egypt at the time of the offenses, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge S. James Otero.
The international operation resulted in a total of 25 arrests and 53 search warrants executed in three countries. Over the course of the operation, law enforcement seized 5,300 firearms and components, 167 explosives/ordinances and 15 silencers from the transnational criminal organization (TCO).
David Russell Levick, 57, of Cherrybrook NSW, Australia, who previously pled guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 1, 2019, was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg.
Rami Najm Asad-Ghanem, 52, who was commonly known as Rami Ghanem, a naturalized United States citizen who was living in Egypt at the time of the offenses, was found guilty of the missile conspiracy charge late Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court. The jury returned the verdict at the conclusion of a nine-day trial.
Si Chen, 33, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to violate the IEEPA, which controls and restricts the export of certain goods and technology from the United States to foreign nations. Chen also pleaded guilty to money laundering and using a forged passport with her photo but a different name that appeared to have been issued by the People’s Republic of China.
Rasheed Al Jijakli, 57, a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna.
Frederik Barbieri, 46, of Ft. Pierce Fla., pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and one felony count of unlicensed exportation of defense articles.
A Russian man was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for attempting to unlawfully export more than $100,000 in firearm parts, ammunition and accessories, including parts designed for assault rifles.
