California Man Given Prison Time for Illegal Defense Exports to Oman

Fares Abdo Al Eyani of Oakland, California, was sentenced March 29 to 12 months and a day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for "conspiring to export defense articles and attempting to export defense articles" to Oman, DOJ announced.

In 2019, Al Eyani acquired at least four firearms, along with magazines and ammunition, and at least "44 rifle scopes, monoculars, and goggles with night vision capabilities." Later that year, he tried to send the guns from California to Oman by "disassembling them, wrapping them in aluminum foil, and then secreting them within automobiles inside the shipping container," DOJ said.

The next month, Al Eyani then tried to ship the 44 rifle scopes, monoculars and goggles using the same scheme. DOJ said that law enforcement officers searched the containers and seized the items.

The goods were defense articles barred from export by the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, DOJ noted. Saba Mohsen Dhaifallah, Al Eyani's wife, was sentenced to three years of probation "for making false statements to FBI special agents" during the investigation.