The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
The FBI has charged 5 men and 4 corporations with illegally exporting high-tech microelectronics to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Powers Act. Three of the men, including one from Aliso Viejo, were taken into custody in Houston, Texas. Two other men are believed to be out of the country.
The Iran-based company Faratel and Smart Power Systems in Texas were allegedly building uninterruptible power supplies and shipping them off for use by the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iranian Centrifuge Technology Company. According to the FBI these electronics can be used in military equipment such as surface to air and cruise missiles. The indictment states the items would be shipped to a company in Taiwan, then on to a company in Turkey, which would then send them to Iran.