United States. A criminal complaint in Brooklyn federal court accused a New York-based surveillance and security equipment company, and seven current and former employees, of selling Chinese-made equipment with known cybersecurity vulnerability to government and private customers, claiming the equipment was manufactured in the U.S.
The company named Aventura Technologies has generated more than $88 million in sales revenue since November 2010, and the scheme for which he is charged has been in operation since 2006, according to a Nov. 7 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Four of those implicated individuals are also accused of defrauding the U.S. government by falsely alleging that Frances Cabasso was the owner and operator of the company to gain access to government contracts reserved for women-owned businesses when Aventura was allegedly controlled by her husband, Jack Cabasso. The Cabassos are also accused of laundering the monetary proceeds of these fraudulent schemes.
"As alleged, the defendants falsely claimed for years that their surveillance and security equipment was manufactured on Long Island, lining their pockets with money from lucrative contracts without regard to the risk to our country's national security posed by the secret trafficking of Chinese-made electronics with known cyber vulnerabilities." said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue. "With today's arrests, the defendants' brazen deceptions and fraud schemes have been exposed, and they will face serious consequences for pasting false 'Made in America' labels on products on which our armed forces and other sensitive government facilities depended."
The Security Industry Association (SIA) responded to the allegations against Aventura in a statement on the evening of November 7:
"The Security Industry Association believes that today's charges issued by the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, against Aventura Technologies and members of its management team are very serious and, if true, would represent business practices that SIA does not approve." The statement reads. "SIA strongly encourages its members to operate ethically and comply with all U.S. laws and regulations. SIA also continues to fully support the federal government's efforts to strengthen the integrity of our nation's supply chain. SIA's board of directors has begun reviewing these charges and the status of Aventura's membership in SIA."
