Dip Shipping Company, a New Orleans-based freight forwarder, agreed to plead guilty to antitrust violation allegations as part of a plea agreement, the Department of Justice said in a Sept. 17 news release. "Dip Shipping is the first company to be charged and to agree to plead guilty in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation in the freight forwarding industry," the DOJ said. The company will pay a criminal fine of about $488,000. Some company executives had already pleaded guilty to the price fixing after being charged last year (see 1807050035), the DOJ said. Roberto Dip and Jason Handal were sentenced to prison terms in June.

Huawei dropped a lawsuit against the U.S. after receiving equipment the U.S. had seized from it two years ago, according to a Sept. 9 Reuters report. The lawsuit stemmed from an incident in 2017 in which Commerce seized Huawei equipment that was traveling back to China after lab testing in California, Reuters said. Huawei said it dropped the lawsuit after the U.S. determined an export license was not required and returned the equipment in August this year, the report said.

Richard Luthmann, a Staten Island, New York, lawyer, was sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and extortion in March (see 1903190032), the Justice Department said in a news release. Luthmann participated in a scheme to contract with overseas companies to sell and ship them containers of valuable scrap metal, but instead packed the containers with "worthless filler materials," such as concrete blocks, the DOJ said.

A U.S. man was sentenced to three years in prison on charges that included conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, the Justice Department said in a Sept. 5 press release. In 2005 and again in 2010, Roger Sobrado submitted a “fraudulent application” to the Department of Defense “for access to export controlled drawings and technical data on behalf of a family member’s company,” the press release said. Sobrado said the drawings and data would only be accessed by U.S. citizens, but Sobrado allowed a family member, who was “illegally in the United States,” to download “hundreds of drawings that were sensitive in nature and that require special access.” The sentence also reflects charges of conspiracy to commit tax evasion and wire fraud.

A Turkish businessman was sentenced to just more than two years in prison following his conviction for conspiring to illegally export marine equipment from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said in a Sept. 3 press release. Resit Tavan, owner of Istanbul-based Ramor Dis Ticaret, tried to export “specialized” equipment, including outboard engines, marine power generators and power boat propulsion equipment known as “surface drives,” the press release said.

Commerce revoked export privileges for Sammy Smith, who was convicted in 2018 of violating the Export Control Act after trying to illegally export firearms components from the U.S. to Turkey, Commerce said in an Aug. 30 notice. Smith tried to export several items on the U.S. Munitions List, including “glock pistol upper receivers, barrels and recoil springs, Lone Wolf pistol upper receivers with matching barrels and a Beretta PX4 pistol short barrel,” Commerce said. Smith was sentenced to two months in prison, six months of supervised release and a $100 fine, the notice said. Commerce revoked Smith’s export privileges for seven years dating from his July 9, 2018, conviction.

An Iranian citizen pleaded guilty to illegally exporting carbon fiber from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 29 press release. Behzad Pourghannad faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

A naturalized U.S. citizen was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to several export violations, including illegally transferring missile systems and unlicensed arms brokering, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 20 press release. Rami Najm Asad-Ghanem, who was living in Egypt at the time of the offenses, transferred “a wide array of surface-to-air missile systems” around the world, the Justice Department said, including to clients in Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Hezbollah.

An Iranian resident was arrested after he tried to illegally ship “computer numerical control machines” from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said in an Aug. 20 press release. Mehdi Hashemi is charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by trying to ship the machines, which are “used to process raw materials, such as metals, to precise standards,” the press release said. The machines are controlled for “nuclear non-proliferation and anti-terrorism reasons.” Hashemi pleaded not guilty.

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for four people after they exported guns, ammunition and other defense-related items from the U.S. to Lebanon, BIS said Aug. 13. The four people -- Ali Afif Al Herz, Sarah Majid Zeaiter, Adam Al Herz and Bassem Afif Herz -- were convicted in 2016 of violating the Arms Export Control Act by exporting items on the U.S. Munitions List without State Department licenses. Each was sentenced to prison and placed on the State Department’s Debarred List.