New Hampshire distributor fined $140K for misrepresenting export shipments

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire-based laboratory equipment distributor has been fined $140,000 on 14 felony counts of failing to file export information on shipments to Russia and Ukraine between 2015 and 2019.

Intertech Trading Corporation, in Atkinson, pleaded guilty to falsely describing the nature and value of the exported items on commercial invoices and shipping forms, the U.S. attorney’s office in New Hampshire said.

In its plea agreement filed in July, Intertech said that it used false descriptions such as “lamp for aquarium” or “spares for welding system,” rather than accurately identifying the sophisticated scientific equipment actually contained in the shipments.

Intertech, which was sentenced in federal court Monday, admitted that it drastically undervalued the shipments, thereby evading the requirement to file Electronic Export Information, which would have been reported to the departments of Commerce and Homeland Security, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The company’s actions jeopardized national security, said Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division.

Intertech “had an unblemished record in the industry for more than 30 years and has been devastated financially” by the government’s investigation and the resulting plea agreement, its attorney said in a court document.