Man sentenced to 5 years for acting as a foreign agent
BY JASON KOTOWSKI, Californian staff writer
A Bakersfield man who pleaded no contest to charges including acting as a foreign agent was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.
Amen Ahmed Ali, 60, admitted in October that he conspired with others to act as an unregistered agent of Yemen beginning in 1987, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Fresno. He received instructions and acted on behalf of Yemen's armed forces.
Ali's attorney, David Torres, said his client faced at least 25 years in prison if he was found guilty of the charges against him at trial. As it is, Ali already has 34 months' credit for time served.
"He is upset that he has time remaining, but he understands this is the best possible disposition under the circumstances," Torres said.
Ali was at first reluctant to take the plea deal, but eventually came around to accepting it, Torres said in October. He has also said Ali was looking forward to getting out of prison and growing old with his family.
Ali admitted in the plea agreement that he conspired with another person to cause various defense articles, including bulletproof vests and chemical protective suits, to be exported to Yemen without a license, the news release from the U.S. Attorney's office said. And he admitted 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.
An investigation was launched in 2003 after a U.S. Customs officer discovered boxes addressed to Yemen containing bulletproof vests, chemical protective suits and night-vision technology, according to prosecutors. The boxes were being shipped from Long Beach to Yemen.
Ali, a Yemen-born, naturalized U.S. citizen, had lived in Bakersfield for more than 30 years. He was arrested by federal agents in September 2006.
In 2000, Ali filed for personal bankruptcy. In filings, he listed his occupation as a self-employed swap meet vendor with a total monthly income of $1,000. The filings quote him as saying his children have helped cover his expenses "in varying amounts."
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