A U.K. citizen was sentenced Thursday in Florida to two years and six months in federal prison for violating an embargo and attempting to smuggle industrial equipment to Iran.
Colin Fisher, 45, was sentenced in Pensacola federal court. He pleaded guilty in September to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to attempted smuggling in relation to exporting power generating equipment to Iran, according to court records.
“The Iranian embargo is directly related to the national security of the United States, and by attempting to evade that embargo Fisher and his fellow conspirators placed this nation directly at risk,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Lawrence Keefe said in a statement. “It’s appalling to think that someone would place personal financial gain above the safety of the nation, but this case shows we will pursue and punish those who try.”
Fisher was arrested by federal agents in August when he arrived in Pensacola from the United Arab Emirates to finish the deal, prosecutors said. Fisher has worked for nearly three years to violate the Iranian embargo by attempting to export a Solar Mars 90 S turbine core engine and parts from the U.S. to Iran, they added.
Law enforcement authorities were able to seize the turbine before it was sent to a conspirator linked to an Iranian energy company. The intercepted turbine, which was valued at $500,000, could be used to provide energy to the oil fields of Iran.
James Meharg, CEO and president of Pensacola-based Turbine Resources International, was previously convicted of conspiring with Fisher to export a large turbine and parts from the U.S. to Iran. He was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison.
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