Illegally Acquired Parts To Repair Aircraft For State-Owned Oil Company

George Semerene Quintero, of Venezuela, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to evade U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s Maduro regime by illegally acquiring aircraft parts to service airplanes used by PdVSA, a Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

Court documents provided by attorneys for the Southern District of Florida showed that after learning about the sanctions imposed on the Maduro government and PdVSA, Semerene and his accomplices conspired to illegally procure aircraft bearings, rudder parts, joint slide flexes, and actuators from the U.S. to service PdVSA’s fleet in Venezuela in violation of export controls and sanctions.

Semerene was an employee of PdVSA, and he and his group purchased the parts from U.S. companies but concealed from them the fact that they were intended for Venezuela by using third parties in Costa Rica and Spain to serve as end-users in the transactions.

Semerene and his co-defendants caused those companies to lie to U.S. suppliers, make false declarations on customs forms, and fabricate other documents related to the transactions.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida commented, “Today, George Semerene Quintero was held accountable in a U.S. court of law for conspiring to circumvent economic sanctions and export controls to aid Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela in obtaining critical aircraft parts from America. The prosecution of Semerene reflects our steadfast commitment to holding those who violate sanctions accountable and to vigorously enforcing export controls to protect our nation’s security. Together, with the Bureau of Industry and Security and our law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to ensure that the integrity and intent of U.S. sanctions are preserved.”

FMI:  www.justice.gov/