Equipment for military, 'Made in the USA,' was from China, prosecutors say
NEW YORK — The surveillance cameras and other equipment that Aventura Technologies sold for years to the U.S. military looked like solid American products, packaged in boxes with “Made in the USA” labels and stars-and-stripes logos.
In a 40-page complaint, prosecutors unsealed criminal charges against Aventura, of Commack, New York, and seven of its current and former employees. The defendants were accused of lying to their American customers for more than a decade about the Chinese origins of the company’s products. The Aventura products bought by government agencies included night-vision and body cameras, automated turnstiles and other security equipment, prosecutors said.
Story continuesThe defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and illegal importation. Jack and Frances Cabasso, a married couple, were also charged with money laundering conspiracy.The biggest customers for Aventura, which has made more than $88 million in sales since 2010, were government agencies, including the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Richard P. Donoghue, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, declined to say Thursday whether the case had any link to the Chinese government or whether anyone in China had hacked into Aventura’s equipment. He said the investigation was continuing, and that authorities were looking for private-sector customers who bought Aventura products.
Since 1982, prosecutors said, he had been convicted of jury tampering, grand larceny and other crimes. He had deep business relationships in China and used a network of shell companies to launder the millions of dollars he made, the prosecution memo said.
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