Mehrdad Ansari, Military Sensitive Items Smuggling, Texas 2011

A federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, has convicted Mehrdad Ansari, a 39-year-old Iranian citizen and resident of the United Arab Emirates and Germany, of scheming to obtain military sensitive parts for Iran in violation of the Iranian Trade Embargo.

According to the evidence presented during trial, Ansari attempted to transship cargo obtained from the U.S. by co-defendants Taiwanese citizen Susan Yip, aka Susan Yeh, and Iranian citizen Mehrdad Foomanie, aka Frank Foomanie, using Ansari’s companies, Gulf Gate Sea Cargo L.L.C. and Global Merchant L.L.C., located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

From October 9, 2007, to June 15, 2011, primarily Yip and Foomanie obtained or attempted to obtain from companies worldwide over 105,000 parts valued at approximately $2,630,800 involving more than 1,250 transactions. The defendants conducted 599 transactions with 63 different U.S. companies in which they obtained or attempted to obtain parts from U.S. companies without notifying the U.S. companies these parts were being shipped to Iran or getting the required U.S. government license to ship these parts to Iran.

The Iranian Transaction Regulations prohibit, among other things, the exportation, re-exportation, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran or the Government of Iran, of any goods, technology or services from the U.S. or by a U.S. person. The embargo also prohibits any transaction by any U.S. person or within the U.S. that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, any prohibition set forth in the Executive Orders.

Mehrdad Ansari faces up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to violate Iranian Trade Regulations; up to five years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud; up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of the Treasury; and up to five years on each count of aiding and abetting the making of false statements. Sentencing is scheduled for September 1, 2021.

The FBI, HSI, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Roomberg, William R. Harris, and Kelly Stephenson are prosecuting this case.

Ansari’s conviction is a significant blow to those who seek to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls. The Iranian Trade Embargo is in place to prevent the transfer of sensitive technology and materials to Iran, which could be used for military purposes.

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