Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen formerly of Irvine, California, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods from the United States to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. government.
The guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Baroudi admitted that from at least December 2011 through March 2013, he and his co-conspirators exported U.S. tactical equipment to Syria for the purpose of supplying and arming Ahrar al-Sham and other insurgent groups in Syria.
Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside Jabhat al-Nusrah, which has been designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization and operates as al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators purchased tens of thousands of dollars of goods from companies and vendors in the United States, consisting largely of tactical equipment such as sniper rifle scopes, night vision rifle scopes, night vision goggles, laser bore sighters, speed loaders and bullet proof vests.
Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then transported the goods into Syria or provided them to others for transport. Baroudi made two such trips in February and March of 2013.
Baroudi was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 9, 2015. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 6, 2016.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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