Pensacola Executive Sentenced To 40 Months In Federal Prison For Conspiring With Foreign Nationals To Ship Technology To Iran

Pensacola Executive Sentenced To 40 Months In Federal Prison For Conspiring With Foreign Nationals To Ship Technology To Iran

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Lawrence Keefe, of the Northern District of Florida, today announced that Pensacola business owner James P. Meharg, 60, was sentenced to 40 months in

prison on federal charges of conspiring to sell and export power generating equipment to a

recipient in Iran, and concealing the scheme, as well as having payments routed to Meharg via a

foreign country. Meharg, CEO and president of Turbine Resources International, LLC, in Pensacola,

conspired with citizens of the United Kingdom and Iran to export a large turbine and parts from the

United States to an Iranian recipient, in violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions

Regulations as well as federal criminal law.

Meharg, a U.S. citizen, conspired from October 1, 2017, to June 12, 2019, to violate the Iranian

embargo by attempting to export a Solar Mars 90 S turbine core engine and parts from the United

States, for delivery to an end user in Iran. Evidence revealed that on April 25, 2018, Meharg sent

an invoice for $500,000 to a conspirator in the United Kingdom and received two partial payments of

$124,950 each, on May 7 and May 24, 2018, at least one of which was routed through a company in

Dubai. In total, Meharg received approximately $250,000 in funds laundered through foreign accounts

as payment for having the turbine sent to Iran. Law enforcement authorities, however, were able to

seize the turbine before its transatlantic journey to the end user in Iran. That end user, a

conspirator in Iran, is linked to an Iranian energy company. Meharg also falsified documents used

to lawfully export items from the United States.

“Exporting technology to Iran is prohibited by law in order to protect the national security

interests of the United States of America, and this defendant chose to put his own self-interest

and greed above such interests,” Keefe said. “Federal imprisonment should send a clear signal that

the United States cannot and will not look the other way when one of its citizens endangers

the safety of our nation.”

“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that trade with Iran in violation of U.S. export control

laws and regulations will not be tolerated,’ said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export

Enforcement, Douglas Hassebrock. ‘The Bureau of Industry and Security will vigorously pursue

parties that seek to profit from illegally supplying materials to Iran.’

Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg, who is a National Security Cyber Specialist,

prosecuted the case following a joint investigation by the United States Department of Commerce’s

Bureau of Industry and Security along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“This case serves as a reminder to anyone who acts as an agent of the Iranian government in the

United States, that American law enforcement is relentless in our efforts to protect the national

security of this country and the freedoms of our citizens,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in

Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “The FBI was proud to support our partners at the

Department of Commerce – Bureau of Industry and Security in this case, and we are committed to

disrupting any similar actions by individuals on behalf of Iran in the future.”

Meharg’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of federal supervised release. He was also

ordered to forfeit a monetary judgment in the amount of $250,000.00.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that

serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access

public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of

Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of

Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the

history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.