Pennsylvania Man Convicted of Illegally Exporting Gun Parts

Ross Roggio of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was convicted for a host of crimes including illegally shipping export-controlled firearms parts to Iraq and operating an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan, DOJ announced. Roggio was also convicted of torture and for arranging for Kurdish soldiers to abduct an Estonian citizen and detain him at a Kurdish military compound, where Roggio tortured the man. The victim worked at a weapons factory Roggio was developing in Iraq to manufacture M4 rifles and Glock pistols.

“The illegal export of firearms parts and tools from the United States often goes hand in hand with other criminal activities, such as the charge of torture on which the jury voted to convict the defendant,” said Bureau of Industry and Security Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson. “I commend our law enforcement colleagues for their dedication to bringing justice in this case.”

Roggio was convicted of "torture, conspiracy to commit torture, conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, exporting weapons parts and services to Iraq without the approval of the Department of State, exporting weapons tools to Iraq without the approval of the Department of Commerce, smuggling goods, wire fraud, and money laundering." He will be sentenced Aug. 23 and faces a maximum life sentence.