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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://birmingham.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/bh032907.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

ALABAMA DEFENSE CONTRACTOR AND ITS OWNER INDICTED FOR ILLEGAL EXPORTS OF MILITARY TECHNOLOGY

WASHINGTON— An Alabama company and its owner have been indicted on charges of illegally exporting sensitive military technology overseas, fraud involving aircraft parts, and submitting false documents to the government, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Alice H. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, announced today.

The five-count indictment, issued in the Northern District of Alabama, charges Axion Corporation, a defense contracting firm based in Huntsville, Ala., and its owner, Alexander Nooredin Latifi, 59, a resident of Huntsville.

“Keeping sensitive U.S. military technology from falling into the wrong hands is a top priority for the Justice Department,” said Assistant Attorney General Wainstein. “This indictment and other recent illegal export prosecutions should serve as a warning to companies seeking to enhance their profits at the expense of America’s national security.”

"No defense contractor can export an item on the United States Munitions List, to another country, without first obtaining a license from the Department of State. Critical technology, such as the bifilar weight assembly, will be protected through criminal law enforcement where violations are found,” said Alice H. Martin, United States Attorney Northern District of Alabama.

According to the indictment, in September 2003 and continuing thereafter, Axion Corporation and Latifi knowingly and willfully exported defense articles, specifically technical drawings of the bifilar weight assembly for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, to overseas manufacturers without first obtaining a required license and authorization from the State Department. By law, U.S. companies must obtain a State Department license or authorization before exporting defense articles.

The indictment also alleges that, on or about February 19, 2004, Axion Corporation and Latifi made a fraudulent representation to the U.S. Army concerning an aircraft part in connection with a military contract. Specifically, the defendants represented to the U.S. Army that certain parts were provided by Tungsten Products of Madison, Alabama, when that company was not the supplier.

Further, on or about January 2004, Axion Corporation and Latifi knowingly submitted a false document to the government in connection with a military contract involving a tank part. Specifically, the defendants submitted “First Article Test Reports” which falsely stated that Industrial Fabrications Co., Inc., had conducted testing, when the defendants knew that the test reports were false and the testing had not taken place before a specific date.

Counts four and five of the indictment seek forfeiture of any assets and property derived from the offenses alleged in the indictment, including real property at 317 Nick Fitchard Road, NW Huntsville, Alabama, where Axion Corporation is located, as well as $659,280 and all interest and proceeds derived therefrom.

The maximum penalty for exporting defense articles without a license is ten years imprisonment, a fine of $1,000,000 or both, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalty for fraud is fifteen years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $500,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalty for filing false documents is five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a term of three years supervised release.

This investigation was conducted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Army Criminal Investigation Division; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David H. Estes, Angela Redmond Debro, and James D. Ingram from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, as well as Trial Attorney Mariclaire Rourke from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://kansascity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/illegalmoney032807.htm

NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

MARCH 28, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOMALI NATIVE SENTENCED FOR $1.3 MILLION ILLEGAL MONEY TRANSFERS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for operating an unlicensed money transfer business which sent more than $1.3 million overseas, primarily to Somalia.

Serar Ahmed Abdullahi, 43, of Kansas City, a naturalized citizen who emigrated from Somalia in 1993, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner this afternoon to three years and five months in federal prison without parole.

“We take this criminal conduct very seriously as a matter of national security,” Schlozman said. “Somalia is widely considered to be a safe haven and training ground for terrorists, who have taken advantage of the nation’s extraordinarily dangerous and unstable climate to set up their own infrastructure. This security concern compels the United States government to bring a halt to any unlicensed, unregulated and unmonitored cash transfers into Somalia.”

The federal indictment contains no allegations about either the source of the illegally transmitted cash or its destination.

“This defendant, like other hawalladars, as they are called, had no personal knowledge of what happens to the money on the receiving end of the transfer,” Schlozman said. “Because Somalia’s relationship to the United States is severely strained by the dominant presence of the Islamic fundamentalists who control large parts of Somalia, and in the absence of a stable government, we have no means to determine whether any of the transactions ultimately ended up in the hands of terrorists. For obvious reasons, that makes the defendant’s illicit money transfers a direct and considerable threat to our national security interests.”

On Aug. 24, 2006, Abdullahi pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Abdullahi, a taxicab driver, admitted that he collected more than $1.6 million from the Somalian community in the Kansas City area, then transferred that money to another money transmitter in Minnesota as well as a bank account in Switzerland. Those funds were ultimately sent to various recipients in Somalia and elsewhere.

“Money transmitting businesses are required by federal law to register with the Secretary of Treasury of the United States,” James D Vickery, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, said. “Our tax system treats these offenses seriously and the IRS has a responsibility to aggressively investigate and pursue prosecution of individuals who intentionally violate the nation's tax and structuring laws.”

Between Jan. 5, 2000, and Jan. 14, 2003, Abdullahi deposited approximately $1.6 in various bank accounts, primarily in cash deposits structured in a manner to avoid detection of the deposits and transfers. During this same time period, Abdullahi transferred approximately $1.3 million to locations outside the state of Missouri, including a bank account in Geneva, Switzerland, in the name of B.P. Shah and the bank account of Jubba Financial Services, Inc., (later renamed Kaah Express, F.S., Inc.) in Minneapolis, Minn.

Abdullahi was required under federal law to register with the U.S. Department of Treasury in order to operate a money transmitting business, Schlozman said, but did not register. Instead, Abdullahi concealed his operation of a money transmitting business by failing to report the operation of the business on federal income tax returns, failing to report the operation of the business in applications for food stamp assistance to the Missouri Department of Social Services, and initially denying to federal law enforcement officials that he was operating a money transmitting business.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan F. Garrett. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS-Criminal Investigation and theMissouri Department of Social Services.