Five people, including three foreign nationals, were charged for their alleged roles in a scheme to export thermal imaging rifle scopes, night-vision goggles, and other military-grade equipment to Russia without legal authorization.
A grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday alleged that 59-year-old Elena Shifrin and 55-year-old Vladimir Pridacha, both of Illinois, along with 45-year-old Russian national Boris Polosin and two Israeli nationals, 52-year-old Vladimir Gohman and 39-year-old Igor Panchernikov, participated in the scheme to acquire and illegally export the equipment from Dec. 13, 2016, until at least Oct. 28, 2020.
The five “conspired and agreed with each other to knowingly and willfully export from the United States to Russia defense articles that were covered by the United States Munitions List without first obtaining from the United States Department of State a valid license or other approval for such export,” according to the indictment. Most of the equipment cost between $5,000 and $10,000, the Justice Department said.
Polosin directed Gohman to purchase the items, which included thermal rifle scopes, weapons sights, monoculars, and night-vision goggles, from online vendors, directing the vendors to mail the items to the other defendants, the indictment said.
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Using aliases, defendants allegedly exported the items to Russia and falsely claimed their value was less than $2,500, in violation of federal law, which requires the filing of electronic export information for the export of any items valued over $2,500 and for any items that require an export license, such as the military items involved in the conspiracy, according to the indictment.
The scheme was undertaken in violation of the federal Arms Export Control Act, passed in 1976, which “authorized the President of the United States to control the export of ‘defense articles’ by designating certain items as defense articles and promulgating regulations for the import and export of such articles,” the indictment said.
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Shifrin and Pridacha were arrested on June 17 for their roles in the scheme, according to the Justice Department. The defendants were all charged in the Central District of California, where Panchernikov resided during the scheme in the city of Corona.
All five defendants could spend up to 20 years in prison if convicted for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, the Justice Department said. For filing false export information, the defendants could face up to five years in prison.
