A jury has found a Fijian man guilty of coming to the US to buy devices used in aircraft, satellites and missiles so he could sell them to China, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
After a three-day trial in US District Court in Seattle and three hours of deliberations, the jury rejected claims by William Ali that the case was entrapment by agents with the US Department of Homeland Security.
Ali, who lives in New Zealand, had claimed that an undercover agent induced him to come to Seattle to purchase the devices.
Federal prosecutors argued successfully that Ali sought the accelerometers and gyroscopes for a customer in China. Anyone exporting the devices must first acquire a license from the US Department of State.
Ali, 37, opted against getting a license, despite warnings that he would be violating the law. His sentencing was set for March 16.
The felony charge of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Act carries a maximum sentence of five years and a USD 250,000 fine. Attempting to violate the act is punishable by up to 20 years and a USD 1 million fine.
Messages sent to Ali's lawyer seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Ali is an engineer who has worked for Air Fiji and Air New Zealand, court records said. He also ran a small company called Aircraft Mechanics and Logistics that sells aircraft parts.
Last year, a customer in China contacted Ali about acquiring accelerometers, which used to measure how fast something is accelerating or slowing down, and gyroscopes, said Assistant US Attorney Thomas Woods.
Ali sent emails to the company that makes the device seeking information about exporting them, and the company alerted the Counter-Proliferation Investigations agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, Special Agent Christy Clerf testified.
The agency tries "to prevent foreign adversaries from acquiring sensitive weapons technology" and sent an undercover agent to determine if Ali knew that exporting the devices was illegal, and to find out where he planned to sell them, Clerf said.
The agent, who pretended to be a broker, warned Ali in emails that his plans violated U.S. Law, but Ali "laughed and joked" that he hoped his emails were not intercepted, Clerk testified.
Ali flew to the US in April to meet the agent and was arrested in a Seattle hotel.
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