WASHINGTON – An Australian man and his company were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for conspiring to export sensitive military and other technology from the United States to Iran, including components with applications in missiles, drones, torpedoes and helicopters.

Charged in the five-count indictment was David Levick, an Australian national, and his company, ICM Components Inc. The business is also located in Thorleigh, Australia. He and his company are charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Arms Export Control Act; as well as four counts of illegally exporting goods to an embargoed nation in violation of IEEPA; and forfeiture of at least $199,227.41.

Levick is currently at large and it is believed that he is in Australia. If Levick is convicted of these charges, he faces a possible sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and 20 years in prison for each count of violating IEEPA.

The indictment states that beginning as early as March 2007 and continuing through around March 15, 2009, Levick and ICM solicited purchase orders from a representative of a trading company in Iran for U.S.-origin aircraft parts and other goods. This person in Iran, referenced in the charges as “Iranian A,” also operated and controlled companies in Malaysia that acted as intermediaries for the Iranian trading company.

According to the indictment, Levick and ICM then placed orders with U.S. companies on behalf of Iranian A for aircraft parts and other goods that Iranian A could not have directly purchased from the United States without U.S. government permission.

Some of the items that Levick conspired to secure from the United States were VG-Series Miniature Vertical Gyroscopes, K2000 Series Servo Actuators,Precision Pressure Transducers, Emergency Flotation System Kits, and Shock Mounted Light Assemblies.

In an attempt to conceal the destination of these goods, Levick and ICM utilized a broker in Florida to place orders. They also concealed the final end-use and end-users of the goods from manufacturers, distributors, shippers and freight forwarders in the United States and elsewhere, as well as from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. To further conceal their efforts, the defendants structured payments between each other for the goods to avoid restrictions on Iranian financial institutions by other countries.

The indictment also states that Levick and ICM wired money to companies located in the United States as payment for these restricted goods. Levick, ICM and other members of the conspiracy never obtained the required licenses from the Treasury or State Department for the export of any of these goods to Iran, according to the charges.

Charges of exporting or attempting to export four shipments to Iran from the United States. Those exports include 10 shock mounted light assemblies, and five precision pressure transducers, these shipments took place on two occasions in 2007. In 2008, the charges indicate that two more shipments were made, again 10 shock mounted light assemblies were shipped as well as an emergency flotation system kit.

It should be noted that indictments are only allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until such a time that they are proven otherwise in a court of law.