California Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Exporting Defense Articles to China, India
Joe Sery, former owner and CEO of Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts, pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List to China, India and other countries without first getting a license from the State Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced June 9. Sery's actions violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulation, and he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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Sery, of San Diego, said that as CEO of Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts, he was trained on how to comply with U.S. export control laws. Nevertheless, he entered into a number of contracts with defense contractors from which he obtained ITAR-controlled technical data, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. After receiving the data, Sery sent it to his brother, a foreign national, who then took it to China, India and other countries.
“As CEO of a company with multiple defense contracts, Sery was entrusted with controlled information that he knew he had to protect, yet he completely disregarded security regulations and allowed sensitive data to be sent to China, India and elsewhere,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said. “He is now being held accountable.”