U.S. Indicts Businessman for Conspiring to Export Products to Iran
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced on January 11, 2005 that a federal Grand Jury sitting in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has returned an Indictment charging Mohammad Farahbakhsh, also known as Hadi Farah, age 50, an Iranian national and a naturalized U.S. citizen holding a residence in Los Angeles, California, with conspiring to ship items manufactured in the United States to Iran, a prohibited destination. The two-count Indictment, returned on September 9, 2004, charges Farahbakhsh with one count of conspiracy to ship to Iran pressure sensor-related products that Farahbakhsh attempted to obtain from Omega Engineering, a Connecticut-based company, and one count of unlawfully attempting to ship these items to the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group in Iran, which has been sanctioned twice by the U.S. for its role in developing missile technology.
According to the indictment, Farahbakhsh ordered pressure sensors from Stamford-based Omega Engineering in 2003. When the company learned the sensors were destined to Iran, officials notified the FBI. Farahbakhsh subsequently engaged in negotiations with an undercover Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security when he reordered additional equipment in 2004. Farahbakhsh was arrested by Special Agents on October 20, 2004 in Los Angeles and was subsequently presented before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Los Angeles when he was ordered detained and removed to the District of Connecticut. Simultaneous with the arrest, Commerce Department Special Agents, assisted by Special Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service executed search warrants at Farahbakhsh Los Angeles residence as well as the home of his former wife in Iowa.
According to documents filed with the Court and to statements made in open court, the Government has obtained further evidence alleging that, between 1997 and 2003, Farahbakhsh shipped computer-related equipment and simulation software that he procured in the United States to Iran.
Farahbakhsh's attorney claims that the sensors were used for construction of automobile testing components and will seeking to have the case dismissed.
Investigators are also looking for a second person who allegedly conspired to ship the sensors to Iran. The person, whose name is redacted from the indictment, allegedly does business at the Akeed Trading Company in the United Arab Emirates
If convicted, Farahbakhsh faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on the conspiracy charge and ten years on the unlawful attempted export charge, and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.
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