Man sentenced in US for conspiring in illegal export of technology to Iran

An Iranian citizen was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the United States on Tuesday in Minneapolis, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Thirty-nine-year-old Alireza Jalali, who pleaded guilty in November, was sentenced Tuesday before United States District Judge Joan N. Ericksen.

According to a release, Jalali and his co-conspirators illegally sent sensitive military-use technology to Iran, where it had the opportunity of falling into the hands of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from 2009 through December 2015, Jalali was a part-time employee of a Malaysian company named Green Wave Telecommunication. Since its incorporation in 2009, Green Wave operated as a front company for Fanavar Moj Khavar, an Iran-based company that specializes in both broadcast communications and microwave communications.

Special Agent in Charge Tracy Cormier of HSI St. Paul released the following statement Tuesday:

U.S. export controls are in place to keep sensitive technology from falling into the hands of our nation’s enemies. One of HSI’s highest priorities is to prevent illicit procurement networks, terrorist groups, and hostile nations from illegally obtaining military items and controlled dual-use technology.

As part of the conspiracy, Green Wave was used to acquire unlawfully sensitive export-controlled technology from the United States on behalf of Fanavar Moj Khavar. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Jalali and his co-conspirators concealed the crime through false statements, unlawful financial transactions and other means not specified.

According to the release, the defendant’s co-conspirators would contact producers and distributors of the sought-after technology, solicit purchase agreements and negotiate the purchase and delivery of the goods with the seller. When the goods were received by Green Wave, Jalali repackaged and unlawfully exported the items from Malaysia to Fana Moj in Tehran, Iran.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.
ABC NEWS