Tampa, FL – Yuksel Senbol, 36, of Orlando, pleaded guilty to 25 felony counts in Florida federal court, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, seven counts of money laundering, conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), four counts of violating the ECRA, and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act.
According to court documents, Senbol operated a front company in the Middle District of Florida called Mason Engineering Parts LLC, to fraudulently procure contracts to supply critical military components to the Department of Defense. These components were intended for use in the U.S. Navy Nimitz and Ford Class Aircraft Carriers, U.S. Navy Submarines, U.S. Marine Corps Armored Vehicles, and U.S. Army M-60 Series Tank and Abrahams Battle Tanks, among other weapons systems.
To fraudulently procure the government contracts, Senbol and her co-conspirators falsely represented to the U.S. government and to U.S. military contractors that Mason Engineering Parts LLC was a vetted and qualified manufacturer of military components, when in fact, the parts were being manufactured by Ozcan and Simsek in Turkey.
Senbol assisted her co-conspirators in obtaining sensitive, export-controlled drawings of critical U.S. military technology. Using software that allowed Ozcan to remotely control her computer, Senbol knowingly facilitated the illegal export of these drawings, despite having executed numerous agreements promising to safeguard the drawings from unlawful access or export.
Once Ozcan and Simsek manufactured the components in Turkey, they shipped them to Senbol, who repackaged them, making sure to remove any reference to their Turkish origin. The conspirators then lied about the origin of the parts to the U.S. government and a U.S. government contractor to receive payment for the parts. Senbol laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal proceeds back to Turkey through international wire transfers.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6. Senbol faces up to 10 years in prison for the conspiracy to defraud the United States offense and for each count of money laundering. She faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate the ECRA, violating the ECRA and violating the Arms Export Control Act.
Alleged co-conspirators Mehmet Ozcan and Onur Simsek are fugitives. This case was investigated by the FBI; General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security; Air Force Office of Special Investigations; Homeland Security Investigations; and Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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