An indictment was unsealed on Friday charging Ross Roggio, 49, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and Roggio Consulting Company, LLC, a firm with which Ross Roggio was associated, for alleged involvement in a conspiracy that, for four years, secretly and illegally exported firearms parts and rifle-manufacturing tools to the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The firearm manufacturing tools, and defense services, included items used to manufacture M4 rifles, from the United States to Iraq, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers; U.S. Attorney David J. Freed of the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office; and said Special Agent in Charge Marlon V. Miller of Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia Office made the announcement.
The indictment charges Ross Roggio and Roggio Consulting Company, LLC with the following:
- Criminal conspiracy
- Illegal export of goods
- Wire fraud, and
- Money laundering
Pursuant to regulations of the U.S. Department of Commerce, a license is required to export certain goods and services from the United States to Iraq for reasons of regional stability and national security.
Similarly, defense services and defense articles may not be exported to Iraq without a license from the U.S. Department of State.
The indictment alleges that, beginning in January of 2013 until the date of the indictment, Ross Roggio conspired to export both items and services from the United States to Iraq, without the required U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. State Department licenses.
The conspirators allegedly purchased firearms parts and manufacturing tools from the United States, illegally exported the items to Iraq where the items were utilized and incorporated in the manufacture and assembly of complete firearms in a firearms manufacturing plant constructed and operated in part by Ross Roggio.
It is alleged that the items illegally exported included:
- M4 Bolt Gas Rings MIL
- Firing Pin Retainers
- Rifling Combo Buttons, and
- “defense services”
The defense services allegedly provided by Ross Roggio and his firm include the furnishing of assistance to foreign persons in the manufacture of firearms.
In addition to the charges relating to export controls violations, the indictment also alleges that Ross Roggio and his firm committed wire fraud on at least three occasions by purchasing items from a United States company and providing said company with false information about the end-user of the items.
Finally, the indictment charges Ross Roggio and his firm with 27 counts of money laundering in the form of bank transfers from Iraq to two accounts within the Middle District of Pennsylvania, in furtherance of their unlawful export conspiracy.
The combined maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is 705 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes.
Any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and Trial Attorneys Scott Claffee and Heather Alpino of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
