FBI: Reston Man Pleads Guilty in Iran Exporting Scheme

Vahid Hosseini, 62, of Reston, pleaded guilty Thursday to two felony counts arising from his involvement in exporting various unlicensed goods from the United States to Iran, according to the FBI.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady.

Hosseini pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and a separate count of money laundering. Hosseini faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and fines totaling $250,000 when he is sentenced on June 6.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from at least as early as January 2008 to July 2013, Hosseini operated a business known as Sabern Instruments from his residence in Reston on Greenkeepers Court. 

Through this business, Hosseini procured more than $250,000 worth of goods from more than 60 American manufacturers, which he then repackaged and shipped to entities in Iran. 

The list of high-tech goods included tachometers, power supply instruments, high-temperature probes, ammonia test tubes, valves, and machinery parts, all of which are used in a variety of commercial applications, including power plants. Hosseini routed these shipments through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an attempt to disguise the fact that the items were destined for Iran. Such exports are prohibited without a license issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

In a related money laundering scheme, Hosseini had more than $700,000 wired into his company business account from entities in Iran and the UAE, much of which was derived from his illegal export business. He then unlawfully withdrew money from his business account for personal expenditures.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Neil Hammerstrom is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.