WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government says it has won 30 felony convictions and seized $143 million worth of counterfeit network computer equipment manufactured in China.
The seizure came in a law enforcement initiative called Operation Network Raider.
The Thursday announcement by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security came as a Saudi citizen living in Sugarland, Texas, was sentenced to 51 months in prison. He was ordered to pay $119,400 in restitution to Cisco Systems Inc., whose network hardware is a prime target of counterfeiters.
Evidence at Ehab Ashoor's trial indicated the 49-year-old Saudi bought counterfeit Cisco equipment from an online vendor in China intending to sell it to the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq for transmitting troop movements, relaying intelligence and maintaining security for a military base west of Fallujah.
