Man gets NY prison time for violating Iran embargo
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A scientist convicted of violating a trade embargo after his family in Iran sent him $3.4 million was sentenced Monday to 2.5 years in prison by a judge who noted that the defendant did not support terrorism or funnel money to Iran's government.
Mahmoud Reza Banki, 34, winced when his sentence was announced, and numerous spectators among his more than 50 supporters cried openly or wiped tears. Banki had faced up to 25 years in prison after he was convicted in June, but even federal prosecutors conceded that the unusual aspects of the case meant that Banki deserved a reduction from the more than five years in prison that sentencing guidelines recommended. (AP)
