Ex-defence contractor guilty of sending US data to India

New York, April 2

A 49-year-old former owner of defence contracting businesses in the US has pleaded guilty to illegally sending sensitive military technical data to India as part of a conspiracy in which she worked with an Indian resident.

Hannah Robert, 49, of New Jersey pleaded guilty before US District Judge Anne Thompson to charges that she conspired to violate the Arms Export Control Act by exporting to India military technical drawings without prior approval from the US Department of State.

According to documents filed in the case, from June 2010 to December 2012, Robert conspired to export to India defence technical drawings of parts used in the torpedo systems for nuclear submarines, military attack helicopters and F-15 fighter aircrafts.

Robert founded One Source USA and Caldwell Components that contracted with the US Department of Defence to supply defence hardware and spare parts.

Along with an Indian resident, identified in the complaint only as 'PR', Robert owned and operated a third firm located in India that manufactured defence hardware and spare parts.

In addition to US' sales, Robert sent export-controlled technical data to PR in India so that the two could submit bids to foreign actors, including those in the UAE and Pakistan, to supply them or their foreign customers with defence hardware and spare parts.

Neither Robert nor PR had obtained approval from the State Department for these businesses.

The complaint cited an August 2012 email from PR to Robert requesting a technical drawing of a particular military item.

PR had also forwarded to Robert a request from an individual purporting to be "an official contractor of the UAE Ministry of Defence."

The UAE e-mail requested quotations for a bid for the "blanket assembly" for the CH-47F Chinook military helicopter and listed the "End User" for the hardware as UAE Armed Forces.

Robert transmitted military drawings for these parts to India by posting the technical data to the password-protected website of a New Jersey church where she was a volunteer web administrator.

Through the course of the scheme, Robert uploaded thousands of technical drawings to the church website for PR to download in India.

The complaint said there were quality issues also with the parts that Robert provided to the Defence Department.

After the department disclosed in 2012 that certain parts used in the wings of the F-15 fighter aircraft, supplied by Robert's company One Source, failed, Robert and PR provided false and misleading material certifications and inspection reports for the parts.

These documents listed only One Source USA's New Jersey address and not the address of the actual manufacturer in India, One Source India.

As a result of the failed wing pins, the Defence Department grounded nearly 47 F-15 fighter aircraft for repair and inspection, at a cost estimated to exceed USD 150,000.

As part of her plea agreement, Robert will have to pay USD 181,000 to the Defence Department, including the cost of repair for the grounded F-15s.

Robert also consented to a forfeiture money judgment of about USD 78,000, which represents the dollar value of Robert's fraudulent contracts with the department. PTI