DALLAS – Five men have been arrested and charged with trying to trade in Iranian oil in violation of U.S. trade sanctions.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, Zhenyu Wang, Robert Thwaites and Nicholas James Fuchs, all of Dallas; Daniel Ray Lane of McKinney, Texas; and Nicholas Hovan of New York City are charged with conspiracy and violating U.S. economic sanctions on Iran.
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The criminal complaint alleges that since last July, the five had tried to buy oil illegally from Iran to sell to a refinery in China. The complaint alleges that they planned to make two shipments of oil per month with an expected profit of $28 million per month.
U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in a statement that the sanctions violations would jeopardize U.S. security.
If convicted, each of the men could be sentenced to up to 25 years in federal prison and fined up to $1.25 million.
It was unclear from federal records where the five were being detained or if they had attorneys to speak for them. A message to a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney was not immediately returned.