CAMDEN – A Marlton, New Jersey man and business owner has been sentenced to three years in prison for providing non-conforming parts for military equipment, illegally sharing sensitive technical information and evading income taxes, announced US Attorney Craig Carpenito.
Roger Sobrado, 49, previously pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, and income tax evasion. Sobrado was sentenced on Sept. 4, 2019, in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Sobrado was the owner of two companies: Tico Manufacturing Inc. (TICO), a purported manufacturing company, and Military and Commercial Spares Inc. (MCS), a defense contracting company, both in Berlin Township, New Jersey.
Between January 2011 and December 2015, MCS obtained contracts with the US Department of Defense (DoD) by falsely claiming that the military parts it contracted to provide would be exactly as described and provided by authorized manufacturers. Sobrado also recruited various family members to participate in the scheme by establishing companies that contracted with the DoD and provided the same false claims.
Sobrado used TICO to contract with local manufacturers to supply non-conforming parts to MCS and his family members’ companies at a significantly reduced cost. These non-conforming parts were then shipped from New Jersey to various DoD locations around the country.
The DoD paid Sobrado and his family members’ companies for the non-conforming parts and the family members then paid Sobrado for the non-conforming parts. Sobrado deposited the funs into his personal bank account and also used the business account to pay for personal expenses, without telling his accountant.
From 2011 through 2014, Sobrado reported a total taxable income of $1,608,372, failing to report additional income of $1,182,405, which caused a loss to the United States of $509,962.
In addition, in August 2005 and November 2010, Sobrado submitted fraudulent applications to the DoD for access to export controlled drawings and technical data on behalf of a family member’s company, as that family member could not get them as he was not a US citizen. This family member, who is illegally in the United States, accessed or downloaded hundreds of drawings that were sensitive in nature and that required special access various times between January 2013 and November 2015.
Sobrado has been sentenced to three years in prison as well as three years of supervised release and $8,043,977 in restitution.
