West Virginian Guilty of Understating Export Values

Facing a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

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A West Virginia man pleaded guilty today to a federal felony offense for committing an export fraud violation, according to court documents and statements made during the hearing.

Rana Zeeshan Tanveer, of Beckley, admitted in his plea agreement that he knowingly submitted false export valuations for certain items he shipped to Pakistan.

In June 2017, Tanveer purchased two high-technology items for more than $4,000. Before shipping, he created a false invoice that intentionally understated the value of the items as less than $200. Tanveer then shipped the items to Pakistan using a freight forwarding service.

Between 2014 and 2018, he used false invoices to deliberately undervalue the purchase cost of other U.S. origin technology items he exported to Pakistan.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia emphasized the seriousness of the offense, stating, "Violating export control requirements is a serious offense. Our office is committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who evade U.S. export laws."

Federal law mandates accurate electronic export information filing through the automated export system for certain items exported from the United States. Submitting false or misleading electronic export information knowingly is a federal crime.

Mr.Tanveer is scheduled for sentencing on August 4, facing a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

 

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