A man from Glendale and another from Lake View Terrace have been arrested on federal charges in connection with a scheme to smuggle military aircraft parts and other potential defense items to Iran, authorities said.
The scheme, according to the Department of Justice, is a violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.
Zavik Zargarian, 52, of Glendale and Vache Nayirian, 57, of Lake View Terrace, were taken into custody on Wednesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, according to the department.
Zargarian and Nayirian are among five people charged in a nine-count federal indictment alleging a conspiracy to purchase and ship more than $3 million of jet fighter aircraft parts to Iran, authorities said.
Several of the defendants, according to the release, are accused of purchasing and illegally exporting fluorocarbon rubber O-rings to Iran, according to the department, which can be used in landing gear and aircraft hydraulic systems. Zargarian’s Pacoima-based company, ZNC Engineering, is also named in the indictment as well as Iranian nationals — believed to be in Iran — Hanri Terminassian, 55, and Hormoz Nowrouz, 56, authorities said.
Zargarian and Nayirian were arraigned in federal court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty and freed on bond with the case scheduled for Dec. 20, according to the release.
If convicted, Zargarian faces a statutory maximum of 115 years in federal prison and a $4,770,000 fine while Nayirian faces a maximum sentence of 95 years in a federal prison and a $3,770,000 fine.
No comments :
Post a Comment