COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man charged with defying U.S. trade sanctions by illegally exporting gas and oil pipeline parts to Iran has been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus on Thursday said 64-year-old Behrooz Behroozian, of Columbus, violated export control laws for more than a decade, sending parts to Iran that had both commercial and military uses.
A message seeking comment was left Thursday with Behroozian’s attorney.
Behroozian was accused of using an Ohio computer parts company he bought in 2006 to hide the sale of pipeline components, profiting between $35,000 and $40,000 annually.
Prosecutors said the components would initially be shipped to the United Arab Emirates and then exported to Iran.
The U.S. imposed trade sanctions on Iran in May 1995.