Lawrence Scibetta Fined $30,000 and Denied Export Privileges for Unlicensed Export to the United Arab Emirates

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Lawrence Scibetta of Port St. Lucie, Florida, has agreed to pay a $30,000 civil penalty and be subject to a 20-year denial of export privileges to settle charges that he violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in connection with the unlicensed export of thermal imaging cameras to the United Arab Emirates.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that on about June 10, 2004, Scibetta engaged in conduct prohibited by the EAR when he attempted to export two Raytheon thermal imaging cameras from the United States to the United Arab Emirates without the required export license. Scibetta was also charged with acting with knowledge and making false statements to the U.S. Government. At the time of the attempted export, Scibetta was living in New Jersey.

BIS has increased its focus on preventing the spread of items that are useful to terrorists, in weapons of mass destruction, or in other weapons or devices that threaten U.S. national security. So far this year, these efforts have led to 33 criminal convictions and criminal fines of $2.85 million, as well as 22 denial orders and 66 administrative penalties totaling $6.22 million.

Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Darryl W. Jackson commended BIS’s New York Field Office for its work in this investigation.