Man sentenced for selling machines to Iran

ROME, Ga. -- A metro Atlanta man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to sell machines to Iran in violation of a U.S. trade embargo.

Mark Mason Alexander, 53, of Roswell was sentenced Monday. He will spend three years on supervised release after getting out of prison.

According to information presented in court, Alexander, also known as Musa Mahmood Ahmed, was CEO of Hydrajet Mena, a company based in the United Arab Emirates.

Between October 2006 and June 2008, Alexander conspired with two Iranian businessmen to sell Hydrajet cutting systems to customers in Iran, in direct violation of the United States' trade embargo against the country.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said an investigation revealed the machines were manufactured in Dalton. Alexander reportedly had the machines trans-shipped to Iran via his company in the United Arab Emirates.

"The trade embargo against the Islamic Republic of Iran is not limited to those who specifically seek to supply the country with military items or with items for use in its nuclear weapon proliferation program," Yates said in a statement. "Rather, businesses and individuals who engage in commercial transactions with businesses and individuals in the Islamic Republic of Iran are cautioned that they are still subject to prosecution under existing sanctions."