Super Micro pleads guilty in Iran export case

Wall Street Journal: Super Micro Computer Inc. pleaded guilty to a felony charge of exporting computer components to Iran in 2001 and 2002 in violation of a national security ban, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California said. The Wall Street Journal

September 20, 2006; Page A18

Super Micro Computer Inc. pleaded guilty to a felony charge of exporting computer components to Iran in 2001 and 2002 in violation of a national security ban, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California said.

Super Micro, a San Jose, Calif., producer of servers, motherboards, and power supplies, agreed to pay a $150,000 fine. It couldn’t be reached to comment.

Super Micro pleaded guilty to selling 300 motherboards to a company in Dubai knowing the items were to be shipped to Iran, the Justice Department said. At the time, it was illegal to export the motherboards to Iran without a license, prosecutors said. The products are no longer subject to such restrictions, the Justice Department said.

In a plea agreement, the government noted Super Micro became aware of the investigation in February 2004 and took remedial action that involved setting up an export-control program that year.

Because of the program, prosecutors agreed it wasn’t necessary to put Super Micro on probation as part of the settlement. The government said it has been monitoring the company’s exports and hasn’t found any further violations.