Iranian National Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Illegally Export Products From the U.S. To Iran

Mansour Moghtaderi Zadeh, 56, an Iranian national, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and one year of supervised release for taking part in a conspiracy involving the purchase and shipment of various products, including aviation parts and aviation supplies, from the U.S. to Iran without a license. Zadeh was also ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $69,159.00.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia, Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. Etre of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston and Special Agent in Charge Michael Imbrogna of the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Boston. The sentence was ordered by Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Zadeh, who had been living in Iran, pled guilty on October 27, to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export goods, technology and services to Iran without the required license, and to defraud the U.S. In court documents filed at the time of the plea, Zadeh acknowledged that beginning in October 2005, Iranian companies requested that Zadeh through his company, Barsan, procure products including a fiber optic video transmitter and receiver, and aviation course indicators that would otherwise require a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to be exported to Iran. Members of the conspiracy arranged for the items to be sent from the U.S. to Iran, for which Zadeh received a commission.

In March 2007, Zadeh and co-conspirators attempted to export metal sheets and rods that are used in the aviation manufacturing industry from the U.S. to Iran without the required license from OFAC. Zadeh had arranged for his new corporation, Lavantia, to purchase the items. Zadeh also used an alias in his communications.

In September 2007, the shipment was detained by the U.S. Department of Commerce pending certification of the end user. In October 2007, the Department of Commerce issued a Temporary Denial Order (TDO) against Lavantia and Zadeh, under his alias. The TDO prohibited Lavantia and Zadeh from participating in any way in exporting commodities from the U.S. Notwithstanding the TDO, Zadeh and other conspirators exported and attempted to export numerous materials from the U.S., including resin, sealant, paint, pneumatic grease, film adhesive and polyurethane coating and thinner. The post-TDO conduct included more than $69,000 of exported goods.

In announcing the sentence, Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Etre and Special Agent in Charge Imbrogna commended the work of the Special Agents who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney George Varghese, now with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas.  Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frederick W. Yette and Jeffrey Pearlman, who prosecuted the case, as well as Trial Attorney Thea Kendler, of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.