Horvath Sentenced

Bence Horvath, 47, a dual citizen of Hungary and Spain, has been sentenced to 31 months in prison for conspiring to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license.

Horvath pleaded guilty on June 17, 2025, to one count of conspiring to unlawfully export goods to Russia. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ordered Horvath to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a fine of $5,000.

According to court documents, Horvath and others initiated discussions with a small U.S. radio distribution company about procuring and exporting to Russia U.S.-manufactured military-grade radios and related accessories. Over several months, Horvath worked to secure those items, which he intended to transship to Russia via a freight forwarder in Latvia.

As part of the conspiracy, Horvath purchased 200 of the military-grade radios and intended to export them to Russia. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained the shipment and prevented the radios from falling into the hands of prohibited Russian end users.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Southeast Field Office, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California provided valuable assistance.

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Horvath will be subject to deportation on completion of his sentence.

The sentencing of Horvath serves as a warning to those who would seek to illegally export sensitive technology to prohibited countries. The U.S. government takes these crimes seriously and will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in them.

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