Japanese national faces illegal exportation charges
A Japanese national is facing 10 years in prison for allegedly exporting sensitive military equipment from the U.S. to Japan.
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. said in a news release Tuesday that Iteru Masui, 29, of Mikata, Japan, was arrested in Seattle and charged with entering into an agreement to illegally export items manufactured in Rochester. He was also charged with illegally exporting items that are export-controlled by federal regulation.
In Sept. 2012, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations began to investigate an eBay advertisement offering AN/PRC-152 radios for sale. The radios, manufactured by the Harris Corporation located in Rochester, are identified by the National Security Agency as a Controlled Cryptographic Item and are not for sale to the general public.
Masui attempted to buy one of these radios, alleged federal prosecutors.
According to the complaint, special agents tracked the attempted sale through Masui’s email address, which is owned by KDDI Corporation, a telecommunications company based in Tokyo, Japan.
Also according to the complaint, the address listed on the defendant’s eBay account belonged to a freight forwarding business with offices in Washington state and Tokyo.
A review of Masui’s eBay purchases between Dec. 2010 and Jan. 2013 uncovered a total of 1,407 purchases including antennae for U.S. radios, body armor and military-style optical sights.
Between April 4, 2013 and May 9, 2013, an undercover agent corresponded with Masui via email and offered to sell Masui two of the AN/PRC-152 radios, according to prosecutors. Masui agreed to buy the radios for $4,500.
After that, over several days, an undercover agent shipped two boxes to Masui, with each containing a plastic mock-up of the radio equipped with a Global Positioning System.
The complaint further indicates that the boxes were followed as they were turned over to the United States Postal Service for delivery to Tokyo, with falsified Custom Declaration forms attached.
Iteru Masui was arrested in Seattle, on January 13 on the complaint which had been sealed.
Masui made an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Seattle on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
If convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.
“The illegal exportation of sensitive communications technology undermines the national security of the United States,” said Special Agent James C. Spero in a written statement.
GMCLENDN@DemocratandChronicle.com