The geographical reach of this scheme is striking, with known activity in California, Texas, and Louisiana. From Bloomberg:
Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Three naturalized U.S. citizens were indicted by a federal grand jury in California for allegedly acquiring secret U.S. defense information and stolen military equipment and conspiring to send them to Yemen.
The four-count indictment for conspiracy to possess and transmit defense information, attempted unlawful export of defense articles and related charges was handed up Aug. 31 and unsealed today, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said.
The men face five to 10 years in prison and fines of $250,000 to $1 million on each count.
“We will use all appropriate legal means at our disposal to detect, disrupt, and hold accountable those who seek to do us harm, whether they act within or outside our borders,” Scott said in a statement.
Ahmen Ahmed Ali, 56, of Bakersfield, California, allegedly received secret defense documents from a government undercover agent and transmitted them to Yemen by fax or courier between June 2005 and August 2006, according to the indictment.
He allegedly conspired with Mohamed Al-Rahimi, 62, of Bakersfield, to receive stolen government property, and with Ibrahim A. Omer, of Fort Worth, Texas, to ship military items such as body armor and chemical protective suits to Yemen.
Such items cannot be legally exported from the U.S. without permission of the State Department.
Ali was arrested in Bakersfield today and will appear before Magistrate Theresa A. Goldner in Bakersfield on Sept. 8. Omer was taken into custody in Bossier City, Louisiana, and will make his first court appearance the same day in Shreveport, Louisiana. Al- Rahimi remains at large.