Four Defense Contractor Execs Sentenced for Illegal Weapon Exports

Four former executives of Sabre Defence Industries, LLC were sentenced last week for their involvement in illegally exporting firearm parts and other defense components.

Sabre Defence Industries, LLC, a defense contractor formerly based in Nashville, TN had contracts with the U.S. government valued at more than $74 million for the manufacture of certain military-grade weapons, including the M16 rifle and other semi-automatic and fully-automatic firearms. 

The investigation was a joint effort between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives with assistance from the Department of Defense-Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

“Stopping the illegal flow of weapons technology is a high priority for ICE Homeland Security Investigations,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans, Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. “These men placed personal gain over their responsibility to support our national security.”

The men, Charles Shearon, 60, of Goodlettsville, Elmer Hill, 69, of Brentwood, Michael Curlett, 49, of Wixom, Michigan, and Arnold See, Jr., 59, of Murfreesboro, pled guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act and conspiring to do so in March of 2011.

Between 2003 and 2009, Sabre illegally exported firearm parts by falsifying shipping documents and using shipping crates with false bottoms.

The company maintained a fake set of business records to conceal the shipments, in addition to lying about the value of items shipped, and illegally importing firearm silencers.

In pleading guilty, each of these four defendants admitted to conspiring to export firearms and firearm components that were classified as defense articles without first obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State.