Court documents said Felipe Echeverri and three relatives had been charged in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The investigation started January 20 when a Homeland Security officer in Florida noticed an Internet ad offering to sell F-5 engines. The agent posed as a prospective buyer and arranged to inspect the engines, which showed the family actually owned them.
The agent told the Eche-verris that a customer in Iran was willing to pay $320,000 but was skeptical that the family could deliver, the documents said. In subsequent emails and phone conversations, the family members said they could get the engines to Iran by first shipping them through Panama.
In a February 16 conversation, the agent raised the issue of the complexity of getting the engines to Iran with Diego Echeverri, who replied that delivery was not a problem and told the agent not to mention Iran again.
