Category: Security News

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Eleview International Inc., Oleg Nayandin, 54, of Fairfax, Virginia, and Vitaliy Borisenko, 39, of Vienna, Virginia, made their initial appearance today in the Eastern District of Virginia pursuant to a now unsealed complaint charging them with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act.

“As alleged, the defendants — a Virginia company and two of its senior executives — conspired through three evasion schemes to circumvent the export restrictions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “U.S. companies are responsible for complying with laws that protect our national security. The National Security Division is committed to holding accountable individuals and companies who violate these laws and place financial profit over our collective security.”

“This company allegedly used not one, not two, but three different schemes to illegally transship sensitive American technology to Russia,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). “Today’s charges, against both the company and two top executives, are a prime example of our work to bring to justice both the companies and the corporate executives alleged to have circumvented our rules in search of a fatter bottom line.”

“We must not allow critical systems and technologies to be transferred to anyone who may use them against America and our global partners,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Guarding against these transfers is imperative, and violations of the laws that protect our national security will be met with ardent prosecution.”

“Export control evasion schemes put the American public at risk by concealing the true recipient,” said Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. “In this instance, HSI, working in partnership with our colleagues at Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, uncovered this scheme was supporting a sanctioned country, thus threatening our national security and the safety of other countries. HSI is dedicated to preventing technology with military applications from falling into the wrong hands.”

According to the complaint, between approximately March 2022 and June 2023, Eleview International Inc. (Eleview), allegedly a Virginia-based company that operated a freight consolidation and forwarding business; Nayandin, the owner, president, and CEO of Eleview; and Borisenko, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of Eleview’s freight forwarding business, conspired to illegally export goods and technology from the United States to Russia by transshipping them through three countries bordering or near Russia.

As alleged, the defendants operated an e-commerce website that allowed Russian customers to order U.S. goods and technology directly from U.S. retailers, who shipped the items to Eleview’s warehouse in Chantilly, Virginia. The defendants then consolidated the packages before shipping them to the Russian customers, often using other freight forwarders as intermediaries, in exchange for a fee. After the Department of Commerce imposed stricter export controls in response to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the defendants began shipping items to purported end users in Turkey, Finland, and Kazakhstan, knowing that the items were ultimately destined for end users in Russia. To facilitate these illegal exports, the defendants made numerous false statements to the Department of Commerce and other freight forwarders about the end users and ultimate consignees of the items in these shipments.

As part of the conspiracy, the defendants engaged in three export-control evasion schemes, each specific to a different intermediary country. In the Turkey scheme, the defendants exported about $1.48 million worth of telecommunications equipment to a false end user in Turkey, knowing that the equipment was intended for a Russian telecommunications company that supplied the Russian government, including the Federal Security Service, or FSB. The telecommunications equipment that the defendants illegally exported as part of the Turkey scheme had military applications, including use by the Russian military to create and expand communication networks in its war effort against Ukraine.

In the Finland scheme, the defendants exported about $3.45 million worth of goods purchased to Russia through Eleview’s e-commerce website to a false end user in Finland that neither purchased nor sold goods. Before consolidating the packages into larger pallets for shipment to Finland, the defendants affixed to each package a label with a Russian postal service tracking number so that the Russian postal service could easily ship the package to the customer in Russia. The goods that the defendants illegally exported as part of the Finland scheme included “high priority” items that the Department of Commerce has identified as particularly significant to Russian weaponry, including the same type of electronic component found on Russian “suicide” drones used to destroy Ukrainian tanks and jets.

In the Kazakhstan scheme, the defendants exported about $1.47 million worth of goods to Russia through an entity in Kazakhstan that advertises its ability to deliver goods to Russia. The goods that the defendants illegally exported as part of the Kazakhstan scheme included controlled dual-use items.

If convicted, Nayandin and Borisenko each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The BIS and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gavin R. Tisdale and Amanda St. Cyr for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case with past assistance provided by then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh.

The case is being coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force and the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Justice and Commerce Departments designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Task Force KleptoCapture is an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Officer was sentenced today to 21 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, related to a vehicular crash involving a motorist in Washington, D.C.

Thomas Smith, 47, pleaded guilty on Oct. 18, 2023, to deprivation of rights under color of law.

“This defendant recklessly pursued two motorcyclists, struck one of them with his car, left the victim unconscious on the asphalt, fled the scene and then switched out his cruiser and filed no report in an attempt to cover up his violent misconduct,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Endangering community members in this manner and disregarding the law violates the victims’ civil rights and erodes trust by those the police are sworn to protect and serve. The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute officials who engage in abuses of their authority, including federal law enforcement officers.”

“Thomas Smith abused his position of trust by engaging in a dangerous pursuit that could have been deadly – and made matters worse by obstructing the investigation into the collision he caused,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “Most police officers uphold the oath they took upon becoming officers, but when police officers break that oath and violate the public trust they must be held accountable.”

“Smith’s actions violated his oath to protect and serve our communities and uphold the Constitution,” said David Sundberg, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to hold accountable those who misuse their power and deny the public their civil liberties.”

According to court documents, on the evening of June 20, 2020, Smith was on duty conducting security checks at the homes of members of Congress in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., when he began pursuing two individuals riding motorized cycles. While following the motorcyclists closely, but without his emergency lights on, Smith’s USCP cruiser struck one of the motorcyclists at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, Northwest. The crash knocked the cyclist into the air before he hit the asphalt roadway.

As the victim lay in the intersection unconscious, Smith drove his cruiser around the victim and left the scene of the collision. Smith did not notify anyone of the collision, take any action to seek medical assistance for the victim or ensure that no further harm came to the victim as he lay on the road. Hours after the collision, Smith falsified several USCP records related to the incident and lied to his superior officers about being involved in the crash.

The FBI and USCP investigated the case, with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Visser for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Taskin Torlak, 37, of Turkey, was arrested in Miami, on Nov. 2 for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as part of a scheme to transport oil from Venezuela for the benefit of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company.

“As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime.”

“This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation’s resources while it unlawfully remains in power.  We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted.”

Torlak was arrested as he attempted to depart the United States to return to Turkey. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the complaint, Torlak conspired with others to cause U.S. financial institutions to process transactions connected to the transport of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of PdVSA, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in January 2019.

According to the complaint, beginning at least in or around November 2020, Torlak and others devised and implemented a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels’ locations for the safety of ships and their crews. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA in payment for transporting Venezuelan oil, and hid the ultimate beneficiaries of the related transactions from U.S. financial institutions, who then unwittingly processed payments in furtherance of the scheme. The complaint further alleges that Torlak and his co-conspirators explicitly discussed the need to hide their conduct from the U.S. Government and its agencies, including OFAC, as well as commercial maritime entities.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C. is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Sean Heiden and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

Taskin Torlak, 37, of Turkey, was arrested in Miami, on Nov. 2 for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as part of a scheme to transport oil from Venezuela for the benefit of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company.

“As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime.”

“This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation’s resources while it unlawfully remains in power.  We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted.”

Torlak was arrested as he attempted to depart the United States to return to Turkey. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the complaint, Torlak conspired with others to cause U.S. financial institutions to process transactions connected to the transport of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of PdVSA, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in January 2019.

According to the complaint, beginning at least in or around November 2020, Torlak and others devised and implemented a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels’ locations for the safety of ships and their crews. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA in payment for transporting Venezuelan oil, and hid the ultimate beneficiaries of the related transactions from U.S. financial institutions, who then unwittingly processed payments in furtherance of the scheme. The complaint further alleges that Torlak and his co-conspirators explicitly discussed the need to hide their conduct from the U.S. Government and its agencies, including OFAC, as well as commercial maritime entities.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C. is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Sean Heiden and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.