A Florida man has been sentenced to 26 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to illegally export military-grade night vision rifle scopes, thermal monoculars, and ammunition primers to Russia. According to a Department of Justice press release, the man obtained these items from U.S. vendors by falsely representing that the items were not for export. He then exported them to Russia by either concealing them in household goods shipments sent through a freight forwarding company or using a private Russian postal service that operated in South Florida.
The DOJ states that the items at issue required an export license or other authorization from the State Department since they were on the U.S. Munitions List. However, a certified license history check revealed that neither the man nor his associates ever applied or attempted to apply for such a license.