Ex-US contractor indicted on charges of exporting military blueprints to India

WASHINGTON: A former US defence contractor, owner of two New Jersey-based firms, has been indicted by a US court on charges of illegally exporting to India blueprints of the hi-tech military equipment and their parts.

Hannah Robert, 49, of North Brunswick, New Jersey is currently under home detention pending trial.

She has been charged in a superseding indictment with one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act, one count of conspiracy to violate the act and four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents, Robert, founder, owner, and president of One Source USA LLC, used the computer of a local church to transfer technical drawings of military hardware parts.

The exported technical drawings include parts used in the torpedo systems for nuclear submarines, military attack helicopters, and F-15 fighter aircraft, the Department of Justice said.

Robert owned One Source company in India (One Source India) along with one PR. She also owned Caldwell Components based in New Jersey too.

Robert allegedly transmitted export-controlled technical data to one PR in India so that they could submit bids to foreigners, including those in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to supply them or their foreign customers with defence hardware items and spare parts.

Neither Robert nor PR obtained approval from the US Department of State for this conduct, the Justice Department said.

If found guilty, Robert will face a fine of USD 250,000 and imprisonment up to 20 years.