Australian shipper indicted for illegal U.S. exports

   The U.S. Justice Department said an Australian man and his company were indicted last Thursday by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for conspiring to export sensitive military and other technology from the United States to Iran, including components with applications in missiles, drones, torpedoes, and helicopters.
   The five-count indictment charges David Levick, 50, and ICM Components, based in Thorleigh, Australia, each with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Arms Export Control Act; as well as four counts of illegally exporting goods to an embargoed nation in violation of IEEPA; and forfeiture of at least $199,227.41.
   Levick, who is the general manager of ICM Components, remains at large and is believed to be in Australia. If convicted, he faces a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and 20 years in prison for each count of violating IEEPA.
   According to the indictment, Levick placed the orders starting in March 2007 and continued the activity through March 15, 2009. Levick and ICM, when necessary, used a broker in Florida to place orders for these goods with U.S. firms to conceal that they were intended for transshipment to Iran.
   The defendants also concealed the final end-use and end-users of the goods from manufacturers, distributors, shippers and freight forwarders in the United States and elsewhere, as well as from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. To further conceal their efforts, the defendants structured payments between each other for the goods to avoid restrictions on Iranian financial institutions by other countries, the Justice Department said.
   The indictment further alleges that Levick and ICM wired money to companies located in the United States as payment for these restricted goods. Levick, ICM and other members of the conspiracy never obtained the required licenses from either the Treasury or State departments for the export of any of these goods to Iran, according to the charges.