WASHINGTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (National Security Division (NSD)), published as received.
WASHINGTON – Bence Horvath, 47, a Spanish national who lived in the United Arab Emirates, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with conspiring to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg.
Horvath pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully export goods to Russia. The Honorable John D. Bates scheduled sentencing for Sept. 30, 2025.
According to court documents, beginning at least around January 2023, Horvath and others initiated discussions with a small U.S. radio distribution company about procuring and exporting to Russia U.S.-manufactured military-grade radios and related accessories. Over the next several months, Horvath continued his efforts to secure those items, which he intended to transship to Russia via a freight forwarder in Latvia.
As part of the conspiracy, Horvath purchased 200 of the military-grade radios and intended to export them to Russia. But he was not successful, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained the shipment, preventing the radios from falling into the hands of prohibited Russian end users.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigation’s New Orleans, Louisiana Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Commerce. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Maeghan Mikorski of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
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