Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Act as a Foreign Agent, to Receive Stolen Property, and to Export Military Equipment

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced today that Amen Ahmed Ali, 60, of Bakersfield, also known as Ali Amin Alrowhani, or Ameen Alrohany, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of a foreign government, to possess stolen government property, and to unlawfully export defense materials.

This case was the product of a long-term investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which involved members of the FBI, Bakersfield Police Department, the Kern County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Duce Rice and Stanley Boone, and Trial Attorney Clifford Rones of the Department of Justice’s Counterespionage Section.

According to the plea agreement, Ali admitted that beginning in about 1987, he conspired with others to act as an unregistered agent of the Government of Yemen, and that he received instructions and acted on behalf of the Armed Forces Department of the Republic of Yemen. Ali admitted that he took official actions on behalf of the Yemeni Government in Kern County, and that among other things, he issued documents in 2002 ordering the arrest of a person upon his return to Yemen. Ali also admitted in the plea agreement that in 2003 he had conspired with another person to cause various defense articles to be exported to Yemen without a license, including bullet proof vests and chemical protective suits. Finally, Ali admitted in his plea agreement that in late 2005 and early 2006, he negotiated with an undercover FBI agent to obtain and ship to Yemen materials that he believed were stolen U.S. military equipment, including night vision goggles, satellite telephones and laptop computers.

U.S. Attorney Wagner said “The Joint Terrorism Task Force and their allies in local law enforcement did a tremendous job in this case. Securing our country, including its military technology, from unauthorized agents of foreign countries is a vital national security interest. National security is the highest priority of the U.S. Justice Department.”

The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge to which the defendant pleaded guilty is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing was scheduled for January 7, 2011, before Judge O’Neill.

Trial in the case of co-defendant Ibrahim Omer is scheduled for January 24, 2011.