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"Arash Jam, Amin Jam, and Abdollah Momeni allegedly conspired with each other and others to obtain goods in the United States and export them to Iran. Specific

"Arash Jam, Amin Jam, and Abdollah Momeni allegedly conspired with each other and others to obtain goods in the United States and export them to Iran. Specifically, the defendants are alleged to have conspired to fraudulently and knowingly export and send nine electrical discharge boards, one CPU board, two servo motors, and two railroad crankshafts from the United States to Iran in violation of economic sanctions. If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the export and smuggling violations, and 20 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine on the money laundering violation." US Department of Justice Shameful.

wkearney99 5y ago
That they deliberately conspired to skirt sanctions? Shameful, indeed. One has already plead guilty. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/iranian-national-pleads-guilty-violating-us-sanctions-against-iran https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/iranian-national-pleads-guilt...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- fitblipper 5y ago
  I dont know of guilt or innocence. I do know that any jail time alone is a huge penalty in the US where their ability to get a job will now be greatly impacted. The US also has harsher terms than any other nation in the world for the vast majority crimes. When I complain about this I often hear the "If you cant do the time don't do the crime", but mostly from ignorant people who are not experienced in what doing the time actually entails. For this crime 5 years feels harsh.
ClumsyPilot 5y ago
"fraudulently and knowingly export" Does this mean they knew they were breaking the law, or does it just mean they were not sleepwalking?
- xbar 5y ago
  The former.
- ironmnn 5y ago
  Breaking what law exactly? US law? None of these people were American. So, US governments has no authority over them, and in the countries they live, there is no ban on re-export. Also, quoting from the document: "The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the President of the United States to deal with "unusual and extraordinary threat[s] ... to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States." Procuring railway parts is not a threat to national security. Abusing national security to threaten companies to deny essential spare parts for people's safety around the world is bigotry and not enforcing law.
MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
Of all the allegations the justice department has stated, not one of them sounds like they had no idea what they were doing. They intentionally went through Canada, met with third parties for payments, and traveled to the UAE then to Iran to hide their tracks. If it's all true (seeing as one has plead guilty), that is more than enough evidence for a jury to convict them.
- gruez 5y ago
  > Of all the allegations the justice department has stated, not one of them sounds like they had no idea what they were doing. They intentionally went through Canada, met with third parties for payments, and traveled to the UAE then to Iran to hide their tracks. Not to mention that the vendors they were in contact with told them that they can't sell them parts because the machine was in iran (as determined by serial number). Rather than taking a hint that maybe they shouldn't be doing what they're doing, they contacted more companies while omitting or supplying a fake serial number. Later on when they tried to ship the parts, they were told by several shipping companies that it was either not allowed, or required an OFAC license.

wkearney99 5y ago

That they deliberately conspired to skirt sanctions? Shameful, indeed. One has already plead guilty. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/iranian-national-pleads-guilty-violating-us-sanctions-against-iran https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/iranian-national-pleads-guilt...

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
fitblipper 5y ago
I dont know of guilt or innocence. I do know that any jail time alone is a huge penalty in the US where their ability to get a job will now be greatly impacted. The US also has harsher terms than any other nation in the world for the vast majority crimes. When I complain about this I often hear the "If you cant do the time don't do the crime", but mostly from ignorant people who are not experienced in what doing the time actually entails. For this crime 5 years feels harsh.

ClumsyPilot 5y ago

"fraudulently and knowingly export" Does this mean they knew they were breaking the law, or does it just mean they were not sleepwalking?

xbar 5y ago
The former.
ironmnn 5y ago
Breaking what law exactly? US law? None of these people were American. So, US governments has no authority over them, and in the countries they live, there is no ban on re-export. Also, quoting from the document: "The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the President of the United States to deal with "unusual and extraordinary threat[s] ... to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States." Procuring railway parts is not a threat to national security. Abusing national security to threaten companies to deny essential spare parts for people's safety around the world is bigotry and not enforcing law.

MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago

Of all the allegations the justice department has stated, not one of them sounds like they had no idea what they were doing. They intentionally went through Canada, met with third parties for payments, and traveled to the UAE then to Iran to hide their tracks. If it's all true (seeing as one has plead guilty), that is more than enough evidence for a jury to convict them.

gruez 5y ago
> Of all the allegations the justice department has stated, not one of them sounds like they had no idea what they were doing. They intentionally went through Canada, met with third parties for payments, and traveled to the UAE then to Iran to hide their tracks. Not to mention that the vendors they were in contact with told them that they can't sell them parts because the machine was in iran (as determined by serial number). Rather than taking a hint that maybe they shouldn't be doing what they're doing, they contacted more companies while omitting or supplying a fake serial number. Later on when they tried to ship the parts, they were told by several shipping companies that it was either not allowed, or required an OFAC license.