Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Sell Counterfeit Micro Electronics to U.S. Military
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on February 16, 2012 that Mustafa Abdul Aljaff, owner of MVP Micro and other companies operating in California, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to sell counterfeit integrated circuits to the U.S. military, defense contractors and others. According to government evidence, he was the mastermind and leader of the highly sophisticated fraud scheme to import, sell, manufacture and distribute, in interstate and international commerce, counterfeit integrated circuits between September 2007 and August 2009.
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(An integrated circuit is a high-tech device, incorporated into a computer board, which acts as a switch. Integrated circuits control the flow of electricity in the goods or systems into which they are incorporated. They are used in a variety of applications, including industrial, consumer electronics, transportation, infrastructure, medical devices and systems, spacecraft, and military. Markings on integrated circuits indicate a part is "commercial-grade," "industrial-grade," or "military-grade." Military-grade markings signify that the part has been specially tested to withstand extreme temperature ranges and high rates of vibration.)
Sold & Distributed Counterfeit Devices in U.S. and Abroad
According to government evidence, Aljaff and others sold and distributed the counterfeit devices, which included military-grade parts, through a web of corporations to approximately 420 buyers in the U.S. and abroad, including the U.S. Department of the Navy, defense contractors, other broker/distributors and numerous industry sectors, including transportation, medical services and aerospace.
Imported 13K Circuits from China & Hong Kong with Counterfeit Trademarks, Etc.
During his guilty plea, Aljaff agreed that on more than 20 separate occasions, he and others imported into the U.S. from China and Hong Kong, approximately 13,073 integrated circuits bearing counterfeit trademarks, including military-grade markings, valued at about $140,835. Those counterfeit integrated circuits bore the purported trademarks of a number of legitimate semiconductor manufacturers.
Must Pay $177.8K to Semiconductor Companies whose Trademarks were Infringed
As part of the plea agreement, Aljaff agreed to forfeit industrial machinery which is designed to be used in the examination, testing, packaging, de-marking and marking of integrated circuits; computers and computer network servers; and his integrated circuit inventory.
Aljaff also must pay $177,862 in restitution to the semiconductor companies whose trademarks were infringed as a result of his criminal conduct. Upon completion of his 30 months prison term, Aljaff will also be placed on three years of supervised release and be required to perform 250 hours of community service.
Florida Tech Company Owner Sentenced to 38 Months in Prison in Related Case
One of the two counts to which Aljaff pleaded guilty involved a counterfeit, military-grade integrated circuit that he had purchased from a Florida-based company, Vision Tech Components, LLC. The owner of Vision Tech, Shannon Wren, was indicted on conspiracy and other charges related to the firm's own sales of counterfeit integrated circuits. Also indicted in that case was Stephanie McCloskey, Vision Tech's administrative manager. Wren died pending trial. McCloskey pled guilty in November 2010 to charges of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and to commit mail fraud and was sentenced in October 2011 to a prison term of 38 months. (See ITT's Online Archives 10112214 for summary.)