FBI Top Stories: $1 Million Reward Offered for Missing Retired FBI Agent

This week marks the fifth anniversary of Robert Levinson’s disappearance, and the FBI today announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the safe recovery and return of the retired special agent.

Levinson, who retired from the FBI in 1998 after 22 years of service, was working as a private investigator when he traveled to Kish Island, Iran on March 8, 2007. He has not been seen or heard from publicly since he disappeared the following day. In 2010, a video showing him in captivity was sent to the Levinson family by his captors.

The FBI is responsible for investigating crimes committed against U.S. citizens abroad. We have been working since 2007 to obtain information about Levinson’s whereabouts and well-being.

“On the fifth anniversary of Bob’s disappearance, the FBI continues to follow every lead into his abduction and captivity,” said James W. McJunkin, assistant director in charge of our Washington Field Office. “We are committed to bringing Bob home safely to his family. We hope this reward will encourage anyone with information, no matter how insignificant they may think it is, to come forward. It may be the clue that we need to locate Bob.”

“Though he is retired from the FBI, Bob remains a member of the FBI family to this day,” said Director Robert S. Mueller, “and his family is our family. Like all families, we stand together in good times and in times of adversity. Today, we stand together to reaffirm our commitment to Bob Levinson.”

“I am very grateful that the FBI has offered this reward,” said Levinson’s wife Christine. “Our family believes the only way of resolving this issue successfully is with the FBI’s help. It has been an extremely difficult time for my family,” she said. “We all thought Bob would be home by now. But five years have passed, and we still don’t know why he’s being held, who has him, or where he is.”

Levinson will celebrate his 64th birthday on March 10. In addition to his wife of 37 years, Levinson has seven children and two grandchildren. The family has been working tirelessly to bring Levinson home safely. “Our youngest son is about to graduate from high school,” Christine Levinson said. “He was in middle school when his father disappeared.”

In March 2011, the U.S. secretary of state issued a statement that the U.S. government had received indications that Levinson was being held by a group in southwest Asia. That region includes the border areas of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. A publicity campaign is being launched this week in southwest Asia to heighten awareness of Levinson’s abduction, announce the $1,000,000 reward, and solicit information. Billboards, radio messages, and flyers will be used to publicize the reward and the investigation. A telephone tip line will be provided to listeners and viewers in that region so that they can confidentially provide information.

“We’re never going to give up,” Christine Levinson said. “Our goal is to get Bob home. We miss him every single day.”

We need your help. If you have information about the Levinson case, contact your nearest FBI office or American Embassy, or submit a tip to https://tips.fbi.gov.

Supporting the Levinson Family 

The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI announced this week that it will give the two youngest Levinson children $5,000 each to help with college costs.

“Bob is part of the FBI family,” said Brad Benson, the society’s president. “We are trying to help carry out what he would be doing for his children if he were home. We also want to commend and support the fact that Bob’s family has pulled together so heroically.”

New York Resident and His Company Sentenced for Conspiracy to Export Computer-Related Equipment to Iran

WASHINGTON – Jeng “Jay” Shih, 54, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced today in the District of Columbia to 18 months in prison, while his Queens, N.Y., company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Corporation, was sentenced to 24 months corporate probation for conspiracy to illegally export U.S.-origin computers from the United States to Iran through the United Arab Emirates (UAE).   Both Shih and his company were also sentenced to forfeiture in the amount of $1.25 million, for which they are jointly liable.

The sentences were announced by Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; John Morton, Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); David W. Mills, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Department of Commerce; and Adam Szubin, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Department of the Treasury.

On Oct. 7, 2011, Shih and his company each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and to defraud the United States.   Under the terms of the plea and related civil settlements with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and OFAC, Shih and his company agreed to forfeiture in the amount of $1.25 million.   In addition, Shih and Sunrise are denied export privileges for 10 years; although, this penalty will be suspended provided that neither Shih nor Sunrise commits any export violations.

Shih was arrested on a criminal complaint on April 6, 2011.   He and his company were later indicted on April 21, 2011.   According to court documents filed in the case, beginning as early as about 2007, Shih conspired with a company operating in Dubai, UAE, and Tehran, Iran, to procure U.S.-origin computers through Sunrise and export those computers from the United States to Iran, through Dubai, without first obtaining a license or authorization from OFAC.

Specifically, in April 2010, the defendants caused the illegal export of 368 units of computer-related goods to Dubai, which were later sent to Iran.   Later that month, the defendants caused the illegal export of 158 additional units of computer-related goods to Dubai, which were later sent to Iran.   The defendants subsequently caused an additional 185 units of computer-related goods to be illegally exported to Iran via Dubai.

This investigation was conducted by the ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) field offices New York and San Diego, and the Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement field offices in New York and Los Angeles, with assistance from ICE-HSI offices in Chicago, Newark, N.J., Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif.  The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection and OFAC’s Office of Enforcement also assisted in the investigation.  

Chief Counsel Attorney Gregory Michelsen and Attorney-Advisor Elizabeth Abraham from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Assistant Director of Enforcement Michael Geffroy and Enforcement Officer Elizabeth Fruzynski of the U.S. Department of Treasury handled the civil settlements for their respective agencies.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Patrick Martin and Anthony Asuncion, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Jonathan C. Poling from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Broomall Man Convicted of Illegal Trading with Iran

PHILADELPHIA—Mohammad Reza Vaghari, 43, of Broomall, Pennsylvania, was convicted today of crimes relating to his participation in illegal business transactions with Iran between 2005 and 2008. Vaghari was convicted of one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), two substantive counts of violating IEEPA, and one count of naturalization fraud stemming from his attempt to procure U.S. citizenship.

Vaghari operated in this country through a Pennsylvania corporation called Saamen Company, purchasing items from other American companies and exporting the items to coconspirators in the United Arab Emirates, who would then deliver the items to customers in Iran. Vaghari also made false statements in connection with his attempt to obtain U.S. citizenship in November 2004.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2011.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Commerce. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy B. Winter and Lauren Ouziel.