Iranian nationals Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori were indicted July 13 in New York federal court for attempting to commit kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering, the Department of Justice said. The four allegedly conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn, New York, journalist for “mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring changes to the regime's laws and practices,” DOJ said. Farahani, an Iranian intelligence officer, along with the other three, all Iranian intelligence assets, allegedly plotted to lure the journalist to a third country and kidnap the victim. Niloufar Bahadorifar, an Iranian living in California, allegedly provided financial and other services to support the plot, and faces additional charges. All are charged with a conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Changi Esquel Textile (CJE), a Hong Kong-based apparel company and part of the Esquel group of companies, filed for a preliminary injunction on July 19 against its placement on the Commerce Department's Entity List. The company is seeking the injunction even though it expects an announcement soon on potential changes to its status on the list, it said. "The government has informed Plaintiffs that there will likely be a development regarding CJE’s continued Entity List designation by August 1," the company said.

Arif Ugur, a Turkish national formerly living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was indicted July 21 for his role in illegally shipping defense technical data to Turkey for the production of U.S. military parts, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release. Ugur's actions were found to have violated the Arms Export Control Act. The Department of Defense found that some goods were substandard and not fit for use by the U.S. military, the release said. As sole managing officer of the Anatolia Group, Ugur, beginning in 2015 acquired various DOD contracts to provide the military with machine parts and hardware items, the Department of Justice alleged. The contracts required that the parts be manufactured in the U.S. Ugur claimed Anatolia made its parts stateside, when it actually made them in Turkey, Justice said. Ugur then oversaw the shipment of DOD technical data to Anatolia's facilities in Turkey -- a move that required an export license seeing as they were subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulation and the United States Munitions List. He did not acquire these licenses, violating the Arms Export Control Act, Justice said.

Yi-Chi Shih, a Hollywood Hills, California, resident, was sentenced to over five years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally ship integrated circuits with military applications to China, the Department of Justice said July 22. Shih was convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations and fined more than $600,000 in fines and restitution to the IRS (see 1907020071).

Arash Yousefi Jam, an Iranian national residing in Ontario, pleaded guilty to exporting U.S. goods to Iran (see 2101130010), the Department of Justice said July 22. Jam worked with others to obtain goods from at least three U.S. companies and ship them to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. The goods included nine electrical discharge boards, one CPU board, two servomotors and two railroad crankshafts, DOJ said. The goods were shipped through the United Arab Emirates and payment was made from banks outside Iran. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 14.

A federal grand jury in San Diego indicted four Chinese nationals for the alleged hacking into the computer systems of dozens of companies, universities and government entities in the U.S. and abroad during 2011-18, the Justice Department said in a July 19 news release. Three of the people, Ding Xiaoyang, Cheng Qingmin and Zhu Yunmin, were officers for the Hainan State Security Department (MSS) tasked with coordinating the computer hackers through a front company that the Chinese state agency established, Hainan Xiandun Technology Development. The fourth person, Wu Shurong, worked at Hainin Xiandun and created the malware to hack the systems used by foreign governments, companies and universities, DOJ said.

Ge Songtao, a Chinese national, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in federal prison for conspiring to send false export information through the Commerce Department's Automated Export System and attempting to fraudulently export maritime raiding craft and engines to China, the Department of Justice said in a July 16 news release. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ordered Ge to pay $114,834.27, the amount that he caused to be wired to a U.S. manufacturer to buy the raiding craft and engines.

Changji Esquel Textile (CJE), a Hong Kong-based apparel company and part of the Esquel group of companies, filed a July 6 lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to have its placement on the Commerce Department's Entity List dropped (Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd. et al. v. Gina M. Raimondo et al., D.C. Cir. #21-01798). The Trump administration put CJE on the list last year for alleged practices of using forced labor from the Muslim Uyghur minority population in China's Xinjiang region.

Jose Rafael Vasquez of Dallas was convicted by a federal jury for attempting to ship firearms, magazines and ammunition to Mexico, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas said in a July 1 news release. Vasquez attempted to enter Mexico Oct. 15, 2020, through the Laredo Port of Entry carrying the firearms, magazines and ammunition in his vehicle. He was carrying three AK-47 rifles, eight semi-automatic handguns, 16 handgun magazines and about 4,700 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition. Trial testimony indicated that senior members of Mexican criminal organizations highly valued these weapons, the release said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Fredericksburg, Virginia, military equipment manufacturer $200,000 for illegally exporting military-related items to military end-users in Russia, BIS said in a June 28 order. The company, Patriot 3, exported maritime jet boots with underwater propulsion systems despite having “knowledge” that the shipment violated the Export Administration Regulations, the order said. BIS said the boots, which were worth about $330,000 and exported in 2014, were controlled in connection with exports to military end-users or for military end-uses in Russia. Patriot 3 sent the boots to the Russian government’s Federal Guard Service, BIS said.