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The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced today that Optical Associates, Inc. has pled guilty to the charge that it made an unlawful export to a prohibited entity in violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b). The Company pled guilty today in court proceedings in San Francisco before the Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton, United States District Judge.
In pleading guilty, the Company admitted that on September 30, 1998, it exported a mask aligner and related parts from the United States to the State Bank of India. The Company admitted that the value of this export was $93,360, and that the Company did not seek or obtain a license for this export. The Company further admitted that the intended end-user for this export was Bhaba Atomic Research Center, an entity also known as BARC.
The Company admitted that its export to BARC was illegal. The Company also admitted that at the time it exported the mask aligner, it knew the export was illegal.
According to the indictment, the mask aligner is controlled for anti-terrorism under the Export Administration Regulations issued by the United States Department of Commerce. BARC is a division of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. Unlicensed exports to Bhaba Atomic Research Center have been prohibited since June 30, 1997.
Optical Associates, Inc. is a California corporation with offices in Milpitas, California.
Optical Associates, Inc. will appear for sentencing on January 17, 2000 at 1:30 PM before Judge Hamilton. Judge Hamilton's courtroom is located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California.
The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b) is five years probation and a maximum fine of $500,000. The actual sentence will be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and will be imposed in the discretion of the Court.
The conviction is the result of an investigation by the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Customs Service. Dave Anderson is the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case with the assistance of legal technician Helen Yee.
All press inquiries to the United States Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at 415-436-7181.
In April of 2002 the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) changed its name to the Bureau of Industry and Security(BIS). For historical purposes we have not changed the references to BXA in the legacy documents found in the Archived Press and Public Information.