Mozaffar Khazaee, 61, formerly of Manchester, Connecticut,
was sentenced today to 97 months in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine by
U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant of the District of Connecticut for
violating the Arms Export Control Act by attempting to send to Iran highly
sensitive, proprietary, trade secret and export controlled material relating to
U.S. military jet engines, which he had stolen from multiple U.S. defense
contractors where he had previously been employed.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P.
Carlin, U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly of the District of Connecticut, Special Agent
in Charge Matthew Etre of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland
Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Boston, Assistant Director Randall C. Coleman
of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, Special Agent in Charge Craig W.
Rupert of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Northeast Field
Office, Special Agent in Charge Danielle Angley of the Air Force Office of
Special Investigations and Special Agent in Charge John McKenna of the
Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement Boston Office made the
announcement.
“Mozaffar Khazaee exploited his privileged access to
national security assets to steal highly sensitive military technology with the
intent of providing it to Iran,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Violations of the Arms Export Control Act,
particularly those involving attempts to transfer sensitive defense technology
to a foreign power, are among the most significant national security threats we
face, and we will continue to leverage the criminal justice system to prevent,
confront, and disrupt them.”
“Mozaffar Khazaee betrayed his defense contractor employers
and the national security interests of the United States by stealing and
attempting to send to Iran voluminous documents containing highly sensitive U.S.
defense technology,” said U.S. Attorney Daly.
“U.S. companies are being relentlessly targeted by those who seek to
steal our intellectual property, our trade secrets and our advanced defense
technology – whether through a computer hack or cyber intrusion, or through an
insider or rogue employee. As this case
demonstrates, we will aggressively investigate and hold accountable those who
attempt to steal trade secrets and military technology from U.S. industries, whether
for their own personal gain or for the benefit of foreign actors.”
“Stopping people like Mozaffar Khazaee from providing U.S.
military technology to foreign powers is crucial to our national security
interests,” said Special Agent in Charge Etre.
“It’s abundantly clear from court records that this individual intended
to harm U.S. interests both here and abroad.
HSI will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners to
ensure that advanced U.S. military technology is not stolen and illegally
exported for the benefit of foreign entities.”
“Mr. Khazaee abused a position of trust and responsibility
by stealing trade secrets and sensitive information belonging to defense
contractors developing some of our most advanced aircraft,” said Assistant
Director Coleman. “His actions could
have put our national security at risk.
Stopping his plan and holding him accountable for his betrayal was a
whole-of-government effort. We will use
all available legal means to pursue individuals willing to help our adversaries
by stealing our technical know-how.”
“The evidence developed during this investigation and
today’s sentencing of Mr. Khazaee illustrate the potential for harm to the U.S.
through illegal exportation of sensitive documents and technology,” said
Special Agent in Charge Rupert. “DCIS,
along with our partner agencies, continues to prioritize and pursue these
investigations to curtail any adverse impact to America's warfighters and
shield America's investment in national defense.”
“This case was enabled by the outstanding teamwork amongst
the many federal law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorney’s office,” said
Special Agent in Charge Angley.
“Critical was the ability to leverage subject matter experts from the
Air Force’s acquisition community who provided the technical assessments of the
high value technology. While the
conclusion of this case neutralized the threat of this particular person, it
also highlights the need for continued and ever more vigilant protection of our
critical technologies.”
“Today's sentencing demonstrates the ongoing cooperation
between the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal law enforcement
partners working together in unison to prevent sensitive U.S. origin technology
from falling into the wrong hands,” said Special Agent in Charge McKenna.
According to court documents and statements made in court,
at different times between 2001 and 2013, Khazaee, a dual citizen of Iran and
the United States with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, was employed by three
separate defense contractors. From at
least 2009 through late 2013, Khazaee offered to provide trade secret,
proprietary and export controlled defense technology that he had stolen from
his U.S. employers to gain employment with state-controlled technical
universities in Iran.
Beginning in late 2009, Khazaee corresponded by email with
an individual in Iran to whom he attempted to send and in some cases did send
documents containing trade secret, proprietary and export controlled material
relating to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. In one email Khazaee stated that the material
he had attached was “very controlled . . . and I am taking [a] big risk.” Khazaee instructed the individual in Iran,
“after downloading,” he should “delete everything immediately.”
Analysis of Khazaee’s computer media also revealed cover
letters and application documents, dating from 2009 through late 2013, which
Khazaee sent to multiple state-controlled technical universities in Iran. In those materials, Khazaee stated that as
“lead engineer” in various projects with U.S. defense contractors, he had
learned “key technique[s] that could be transferred to our own industry and
universities.” Khazaee stated that he
wanted to “move to Iran,” that he was “looking for an opportunity to work in
Iran,” and that he was interested in “transferring my skill and knowledge to my
nation.”
In or about November 2013, while residing in Connecticut,
Khazaee attempted to send a large shipping container to Iran. The shipment included, in numerous boxes and
on computer media, thousands of highly sensitive technical manuals,
specification sheets, test results, technical drawings and data and other
proprietary material relating to U.S. military jet engines, including those
relating to the U.S. Air Force’s F35 JSF program and the F-22 Raptor. The materials in the interdicted shipment had
been stolen from U.S. defense contractors where Khazaee had worked and many
documents were prominently labeled with strict export control warnings. Khazaee did not apply for nor did he obtain
any license to export any of the documents and the export or attempted export
of such material to Iran is illegal.
On Jan. 9, 2014, Khazaee was arrested at the Newark Liberty
International Airport before boarding a flight to Iran. Search warrants executed on Khazaee’s checked
and carry-on luggage revealed additional hard copy documents and computer media
containing sensitive, proprietary, trade secret and export controlled documents
relating to U.S. military jet engines.
Khazaee was also found in the possession of $59,945.00 in as-yet undeclared
cash, which he had split up into increments of approximately $5,000 and
secreted in multiple bank envelopes in various places in his carry-on luggage.
The hard copy and electronic material that Khazaee stole and
sought to transfer to Iran totaled some 50,000 pages and was reviewed by experts
from both the U.S. Air Force and the victim defense contractors. In addition to the materials relating to the
JSF Program and the F-22 Raptor, Khazaee also had documents from numerous other
U.S. military engine programs, including the V-22 Osprey, the C130J Hercules
and the Global Hawk engine programs. In
total, Khazaee sought to export approximately 1,500 documents containing trade
secrets and approximately 600 documents containing highly sensitive defense technology.
According to analyses by the U.S. Air Force and victim
defense contractors, the technical data that Khazaee stole would have helped
Iran “leap forward” ten years or more in academic and military turbine engine
research and development, reducing their investment in such technology by one
to two billion dollars and potentially enhancing the development and
effectiveness of their weapon systems.
Khazaee has been detained since his arrest on Jan. 9,
2014. On Feb. 25, 2015, he pleaded
guilty to one count of unlawful export and attempted export of defense articles
from the U.S. in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
This case was investigated by the ICE-HSI’ New England
Division, the FBI’s New Haven Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative
Service in New Haven, the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations in
Boston and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement in Boston.
Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S. Attorney Daly
also commended the efforts of the many other agencies and offices that were involved
in this investigation, including the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the Central
District of California, the Southern District of Indiana and the District of
New Jersey; ICE-HSI in Los Angeles; the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Service (CBP) in Los Angeles; the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special
Investigations in Los Angeles; as well as ICE-HSI, CBP and FBI in New Jersey;
and HSI, FBI and DCIS in Indianapolis.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Stephen Reynolds of the District of Connecticut and Trial Attorney Brian
Fleming of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control
Section.
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