NBC Newser Sold High Tech to Iran

An NBC News cameraman pled guilty in Philadelphia on Monday to attempting to sell banned technology to Iran.

Erik Kyriacou, 24, of North Babylon, New York, had been charged with four federal counts, including trying to export technology to an "axis of evil" country, reported Long Island's Newsday.

HOUSTON MAN CHARGED WITH EXPORTING NIGHT VISION LENSES TO IRAN

May 11, 2004 - PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan today announced the filing of a four-count Criminal Indictment* charging Erik Kyriacou with two counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Title 50, United States Code, Section 1701 et seq, by exporting technology without a license, and exporting and attempting to export technology to Iran, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2314, and one count of making a false statement, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a).

It is alleged that on or about January 30, 2004, the defendant unlawfully exported from the United States four Astroscope camera lenses, in violation of the laws and regulations controlling such exports, knowing that the lenses were to be shipped to Iran, which is currently under a U.S. embargo. It is further alleged that one of the lenses shipped in foreign commerce was stolen property. The Astroscope is a night vision device which allows a video camera to capture images clearly in the dark.

"These lenses could be used to, among other things, observe the U.S. military at night," said Meehan. "Laws that prohibit the exporting of technology to a country under embargo are in place to ensure that high-tech equipment like these lenses doesn't end up in the wrong hands."

If convicted of these offenses, Kyriacou is exposed to a sentence of 35 years imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:3MTycTewIgIJ:www.usdoj.gov/usao/pae/News/Pr/2004/may/kyriacou.html+Erik+Kyriacou&hl=en

Erik Kyriacou pleads guilty in Iran embargo violation
Erik Holm | February 8

Newsday - A part-time cameraman who worked for NBC found out the hard way that "Akbar," the international broker he had met on eBay, wasn't really looking to ship stolen night-vision lenses to Iran.

Instead, the broker was a federal customs agent, and the cameraman, Erik Kyriacou, 24, of North Babylon, found himself in a Philadelphia courtroom Monday pleading guilty to four federal counts, including trying to export technology to an "axis of evil" country.

Man pleads guilty to export of stolen night vision gear
By BILL BERGSTROM
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - A man accused of exporting night vision lenses stolen from NBC News in New York pleaded guilty Monday to a violation of the U.S. embargo on exports to Iran along with other federal charges.

The lenses didn't go to Iran, but Erik Kyriacou, 24, of North Babylon, N.Y., agreed to sell them to a federal undercover agent who said he was acting on behalf of a customer there, prosecutors said.

The Astroscope night vision lenses allow video cameras to capture images in the dark.

"In the wrong hands they could help adversaries monitor American troops at night and conduct other surveillance," William Reid, special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Philadelphia, said in a statement.

The night vision gear can't be exported to Iran because of the U.S. embargo, and can't be exported anywhere without obtaining a license, Customs officials and federal prosecutors said.

Reid's office began investigating after four Astroscope lenses were offered for sale on the eBay Internet auction site in late 2003, according to court documents.

One matched the serial number of one of several Astroscopes reported missing by NBC in New York, where Kyriacou had worked as a part-time employee, said a memorandum by assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy A. Kelly.

Kyriacou admitted taking the lenses from an NBC storeroom and offering them for sale on eBay, said Robert Welsh, his attorney. "He did something stupid," Welsh said.

But Welsh said Kyriacou hadn't planned to export the lenses until investigators proposed the deal.

According to the court papers, an undercover agent contacted the seller identified on eBay as Erik K, who investigators later identified as Kyriacou.

In a series of calls and e-mails, the agent discussed purchasing the lenses for a customer in Iran, offered $8,000 for four lenses and asked Kyriacou to ship them to Vienna, Austria, prosecutors said.

Kyriacou was told that shipping the lenses to Iran would violate U.S. export restrictions, that a license was required to export them anywhere, and that a license had been denied, Kelly's memorandum said.

"Additionally, Erik was told that if the shipment was not labeled carefully it could be caught, and that they both could have problems," the memorandum said.

Kyriacou still agreed to the deal, and shipped the lenses to Vienna in February 2004, the court documents said.

Kyriacou pleaded guilty to one count of exporting without a required license, one count of attempting to export to a country under embargo, one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods and one count of making a false statement. Sentencing was scheduled May 10.

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