Alabama Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Violating U.S. Sanctions on Iran
Ray Hunt, also known as Abdolrahman Hantoosh, Rahman Hantoosh, and Rahman Natooshas, 71, of Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, has been sentenced to five years in prison for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In July 2024, Hunt pleaded guilty to conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods to the Islamic Republic of Iran in violation of the U.S. trade sanctions.
According to court documents, in May 2014, Hunt registered Vega Tools LLC with the Alabama Secretary of State, listing the nature of the business as “the purchase/resale of equipment for the energy sector.” He operated Vega Tools, including purchasing, receiving, and shipping U.S.-origin goods, from locations in Madison County, Alabama. Beginning at least as early as 2015 and continuing to the time of his arrest in November 2022, Hunt conspired with two Iranian companies located in Tehran, Iran, to illegally export U.S.-manufactured industrial equipment for use in Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemical industries.
Hunt engaged in a series of deceptive practices to avoid detection by U.S. authorities, including using third-party transshipment companies in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and routing payments through UAE banks, as well as lying to shipping companies about the value of his exports to prevent the filing of Electronic Export Information to U.S. authorities. Hunt lied to suppliers and shippers by claiming the items he purchased on behalf of the Iranian co-conspirators were destined for end-users in Turkey and UAE, while knowing the exports were ultimately destined for Iran. Hunt also lied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers regarding the nature and existence of his business when questioned upon his return from a March 2020 trip to Iran.
Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama; Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement John Sonderman of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS); and Assistant Director Kevin Vorndran of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division announced the sentence.
BIS investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Cross and Henry Cornelius for the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Emma Ellenrieder and Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.
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Source: Justice.gov
