The chief executive of Rocky Mountain Instrument Company pleaded guilty on behalf of the corporation on Tuesday to exporting military optical prisms and data to foreign nations without permission from the U.S. Department of State.
Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel sentenced the Lafayette-based company to five years of probation and oversight and ordered the forfeiture $1 million to the federal government.
The prisms and technical data exported by RMI are items on the United States Munitions List of military defense products that companies are not allowed to export to foreign countries.
In RMI’s case, the company exported the items to Turkey, South Korea, China and Russia from April 2005 to Oct. 11, 2007.
Steven Hahn, RMI’s chief executive officer, told the judge that the company has taken steps to improve the way it conducts business.
“The company takes full responsibility for it’s past failings and I can assure the court that we have put the proper systems in place and we are prepared to move on as a compliant company,” Hahn said.
RMI has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is in the process of reorganizing. The bankruptcy won’t have an impact on the $1 million forfeiture.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kirsch told the judge that RMI was cooperative during the investigation and continues to cooperate. Individuals within the corporation remain under investigation.
“They treated this as a serious matter from the time the search warrant was executed as well,” Kirsch said.
