June 20-2014
Vahid Hosseini, 62, was sentenced in Virginia Friday to two-and-a-half years in prison followed by two years of supervised release, for exporting to Iran high-tech electronics and other items that could be used to enhance a nuclear device.
According to court documents, from January 2008 to July 2013, Hosseini, an Iranian-born, naturalized US citizen, operated a business known as Sabern Instruments from his home in Reston, Virginia.
Court documents state that through this business, Hosseini procured more than $250,000 worth of goods from over 60 American manufacturers that he then repackaged and shipped to entities in Iran.
The list of high-tech goods included tachometers, power supply instruments, high-temperature probes, ammonia test tubes, valves and machinery parts — all of which court documents state are used in a variety of commercial applications, including nuclear plants.
Some of the items Hosseini sent to Iran were found to be capable of aiding a nuclear weapons program, according to court records.
Hosseini routed his shipments through the United Arab Emirates in an attempt to disguise the fact that they were destined for Iran and “knowing that he was transporting these goods in violation of US trade sanctions against Iran,” court records state.
In a related money laundering scheme, Hosseini was accused of having more than $700,000 wired into his company business account from entities in Iran and the UAE, much of which was derived from his illegal export business.
Hosseini pleaded guilty to both charges March 6. He agreed to forfeit $50,000 as part of his guilty plea in this case.
