Richmond Attah, a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted last week for exporting 27 handguns and 3500 rounds of ammunition without the required license from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. The guns and ammo, which were hidden in a washing machine, a dryer and a barrel, were on their way to Ghana before being discovered by U.S. customs officials in Savannah, Georgia.

As readers of this blog undoubtedly know, a criminal export conviction requires proof that the defendant knew that he or she was violating the law in connection with the unlicensed export. Given the confusing welter of applicable regulations, and the uncertain export classification of many items, this can often be a difficult task. The challenge for the defense in this case will be explaining exactly why, if true, 27 handguns were put into a washer and dryer bound for Ghana and why this is not fairly conclusive proof that Mr. Attah knew that the exports were illegal. Perhaps the explanation will be that the intended recipient demanded that the weapons be “clean” and Mr. Attah did not completely understand what this meant.

The recent indictment of Brian Thomas Platt, a federally-registered firearms manufacturer, makes me wonder whether there is so little crime in Maryland that prosecutors have the time to indict an individual for exporting a handful of rifle parts without a license, particularly where at least one of the exports arguably qualified for the license exemption for exports of firearms parts with a wholesale value less than $100.  Worse the indictment doesn’t even allege the required element of scienter in an Arms Export Control Act prosecution, namely that the defendant knew that the exports were in violation of law.    The absence of a scienter allegation is significant given that the case is likely to turn on the wholesale value of the parts exported, another crucial fact left out of the oddly and amateurishly drafted indictment.

Three exports are at issue.  The second involved M-16 parts: three selectors, disconnectors, auto sear assemblies and hammers.  The Brownells site gives the retail value of the items as $32.37 for the selectors, $17.97 for the disconnectors (pictured above), $29.97 for the sear assemblies and $66.90 for the hammers. That’s $147.21 retail. It is not unreasonable to assume that the wholesale price of these items is under $100, and the exemption in section 123.17(a) of the ITAR is for exports where the wholesale price is $100 or less.

The remaining exports include one rifle barrel (which is not covered by the exemption in section 123.17) and another export of two Uzi tops and a trigger assembly, also with an apparent value that may well be under the $100 limit. And, of course, the indictment doesn’t bother to allege the value of the shipments or that Platt knew that the parts exceeded the $100 value or that he knew that the exports were illegal. Indeed, given that licenses probably could have been easily obtained for these parts, given the low value (and profits involved) for these parts, and given Platt’s status as a licensed firearm manufacturers, it seems highly unlikely that he knew these exports were illegal.

This appears to be a classic case for a civil penalty. No knowledge or scienter is required for a civil penalty. If Platt was mistaken about the value of the parts, he could still suffer a significant fine. Here, however, for a handful of cheap rifle parts that may or may not have required a license, the prosecutors want to send Platt to jail for 60 years and, in the now inevitable forfeiture allegations, take away his house too. What a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money and prosecutorial resources.