Scope Enterprises, Ltd. v. United States

18 Cl. Ct. 875, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 243, 1989 WL 147768
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedDecember 7, 1989
DocketNo. 615-88C
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 18 Cl. Ct. 875 (Scope Enterprises, Ltd. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scope Enterprises, Ltd. v. United States, 18 Cl. Ct. 875, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 243, 1989 WL 147768 (cc 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

NETTESHEIM, Judge.

This case is before the court after argument on defendant’s motion for summary judgment, having been transferred to this judge after completion of briefing. Thereafter, plaintiff filed supplemental authorities that arose during the interval after briefing.

FACTS

Scope Enterprises, Ltd. (“plaintiff”), a corporation organized under the laws of the Isle of Man, United Kingdom, and having a place of business in Lisbon, Portugal, brings suit requesting return of money confiscated by the United States Department of Treasury’s Customs Service (“Customs”) pursuant to a “sting” operation.

The following material facts are either undisputed or not disputed in the manner provided for by RUSCC 56(f). From 1982 to 1986, Customs conducted “Operation Exodus,” a sting operation intended to halt the illegal flow of high technology and military items to foreign nations. Customs, through its undercover agents Kelley M.S. Wilson, Fred Ghio, and Kyle Windes, created and operated “Ameritech,” a front company located in Irvine, California, which would acquire and unlawfully export military and high technology items for interested persons. Agents Ghio and Windes (collectively referred to as “the agents”) actively posed as representatives of Ameri-tech, while Agent Wilson worked with them in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

Events in this case began unfolding in January 1984 when Jackie Singer first contacted agents Ghio and Windes. After an initial meeting, the agents participated in a series of periodic undercover meetings through January 1985 with various Portuguese individuals, including Eduardo F.R. Gill Ojeda, Carlos Ribeiro, Moisés S. Bro-der, and Alfonse Bonacho. Mr. Singer was not heard from again regarding this matter.

The agents’ first deal for Ameritech transpired between themselves and Messrs. Broder and Bonacho. Broder and Bonacho, who each lived in Portugal, initially desired helicopter and radar equipment parts for an Iranian buyer. Meetings ensued and, at one held on February 3, 1984, Agent Ghio informed Bonacho that Bonacho would need an export license from the United States Department of State in order to export such parts to Iran and that such a license was unattainable. Bonacho replied, “ ‘Of course not.’ ” Declaration of Fred Ghio, Jan. 17, 1989, 11 5. While discussing inflated prices due to the illegal nature of the sale and export of the equipment during a February 7,1984 meeting, Mr. Broder stated: “ ‘Let’s face it. I know that it’s not [877]*877kosher ...[.] We all know that it’s not kosher.’ ” Ghio Decl. id.

At the same meeting, Broder paid Agent Ghio $28,000.00 in $100.00 bills for the purchase of two parts associated with the United States’ Hawk Missile System, which the United States provided to Iran prior to the overthrow of the last Shah. Messrs. Broder and Bonacho took delivery and requested additional related parts:

Negotiations for these related parts continued into April 1984, when the agents reached an agreement with Broder and Bo-nacho regarding the type and quantity of parts to be purchased. However, this second transaction never occurred. Broder telephoned Agent Ghio from Portugal and stated that Bonacho had stolen the purchase money totalling between $250,000.00 and $350,000.00. As a result of the theft, according to Broder, an Iranian colonel who travelled to Los Angeles, California, to finalize the deal had returned to London, England.

Further negotiations between the agents and Broder continued. In June 1984 Bro-der informed the agents that he had located a new Iranian customer, based in Spain, for the parts that Bonacho and he agreed to purchase in March. However, this deal also fell through. Broder communicated with the agents in August and October 1984, but no further purchase occurred.

No other event of import concerning the agents or Ameritech occurred until January 7,1985, when Carlos Ribeiro, a resident of Lisbon, Portugal, telephoned Ameritech and arranged a meeting with the agents for the next day. On January 8, 1984, Ribeiro arrived with Eduardo Ojeda, and Ribeiro, acting as interpreter for Ojeda, explained that Ojeda was the main purchaser of military radar components and that Broder had been working for Ojeda all along. Ojeda gave no indication that he was representing any entity other than himself. Only at a much later date did the agents learn of any connection between Ojeda and plaintiff.

Because of Bonacho’s theft, Ojeda no longer trusted Broder and, hence, wanted a direct relationship with Ameritech. Agent Ghio again explained, this time to Ojeda, that since the requested equipment was not sold domestically and required licenses and certificates for export, any such transaction potentially could result in serious legal consequences for all parties concerned. Ojeda then handed the agents a “wish” list of Hawk Missile and radar parts which were either the same as or similar to the parts that Broder attempted to purchase earlier. From the conversation it was evident to the agents that the equipment was destined for Iran.

Through several telexes, Ojeda agreed to buy parts for the Hawk Missile System and an early-warning radar system for a total of $619,300.00. In furtherance of the deal, on January 11, 1985, Ribeiro and Agent Windes agreed via telephone that Windes would create false invoices for the parts, labelling them in a nondescript manner, such as television sets. Two days later, Agent Ghio informed Broder, who was in Lisbon, that Ojeda and Ribeiro, who were in California, were ready to complete the deal with Ameritech. On January 17,1985, having flown to Los Angeles, Broder had a heated discussion with Ojeda and Ribeiro regarding Broder’s trustworthiness. After reviewing the equipment, Broder, Ojeda, and Ribeiro participated in the transaction. Agent Ghio advised Ojeda and the other men several times that they were about to purchase classified equipment and, as such, required a license for export to Iran and that such license could not be obtained legally. During this meeting Ribeiro gave the agents a cashier’s check for the equipment in the amount of $619,300.00. Ojeda, Broder, and Ribeiro then accepted the radar equipment from the agents; loaded it onto a truck with the agents’ assistance; and drove to a storage facility in Orange County, California, where they unloaded the goods. The agents next deposited the cashier’s check into a government bank account. The facility remained under Customs’ surveillance for two days.

The purchased equipment was classified under the United States Munitions List, 22 C.F.R. § 121.1 (1985), and required an ex[878]*878port license or written approval from the State Department prior to shipment.

On January 18, 1985, Ribeiro consigned a parcel to DHL, an overseas carrier, for shipment to Antonio Lopes in Lisbon. Customs agents examined and seized the parcel which contained, in part, copies of performance data sheets copied by Ribeiro while at Ameritech. On the following day, January 19, Ribeiro drove Ojeda and Bro-der to Los Angeles International Airport, and, as they attempted to board a flight to Lisbon, Agent Wilson arrested the two for conspiring to illegally export military equipment from the United States. Customs officials arrested Ribeiro later that day at the same airport. Further, Customs seized the equipment from the Orange County storage facility and returned it to the Department of Defense, from which it had been on loan.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
18 Cl. Ct. 875, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 243, 1989 WL 147768, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scope-enterprises-ltd-v-united-states-cc-1989.