At LAT, "Engineer accused of trying to send F-35 fighter jet papers to Iran":
Customs agents in Long Beach were shocked after opening boxes labeled "House Hold Goods" bound for Iran and finding thousands of documents outlining secret information on the military's $392-billion fighter jet program.Keep reading.
The treasure trove of technical manuals, specification sheets and other proprietary material was being sent by Mozaffar Khazaee, a former engineer with military jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney, to the city of Hamadan in northwest Iran, authorities said.
A federal grand jury indicted Khazaee, 59, Tuesday on two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.
The criminal case casts a pall over foreign-born workers handling sensitive government information, experts said. But they noted that some of the more notorious cases have involved U.S. citizens such as Edward Snowden, the analyst who leaked National Security Agency secrets.
In an affidavit summarizing the evidence against Khazaee, a special agent from the Department of Homeland Security said the government uncovered 44 boxes of material that contained technical data on military engines and the largest weapons program in history: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
"The documents contained language regarding the technical specifications of the JSF engine program, as well as diagrams, blueprints and other documentation relating to the inner workings of the jet's engine," the affidavit by special agent Breanne Chavez said.
"Several of the documents also bore markings indicating that they were the property of at least three defense contractors," it said. The companies are only identified as A, B and C.
Matthew C. Bates, spokesman at Pratt & Whitney, confirmed his company is part of the investigation, prompted by the seizure Nov. 26.
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