MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A Monongalia County man will face six months in prison for making a false statement, implicated in illegally exporting to Iran in violation of current Iranian sanctions.
Darus Zehrbach, 72, pleaded guilty to one count of offering a false statement to a federal agent. He pleaded in January in connection to a July 2016 incident.
In Feb. 2015, Zehrbach received a letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. His application for a license to export electric scooters to Iran had been denied. Then, in June 2016, Zehrbach exported eight scooters to the United Arab Emirates, knowing that the scooters would then be shipped to Iran.
In July 2016, the eight scooters arrived in Iran.
Zehrbach further admitted to sending a letter to an agent of the United States Department of Commerce stating that a shipment he sent to Iran had originated in China. That shipment had, in fact, originated in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.