ERAI Blog
Anne-Liese Heinichen
05/31/2019
Rogelio Vasquez, aka “James Harrison”, owner of PRB Logics Corporation, has been sentenced to 46 months in a federal prison after pleading guilty to trafficking in counterfeit military goods, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and wire fraud. In addition, Vasquez was ordered to pay $144,000 to the US Government in restitution fees.
TAGS
Kristal Snider
05/20/2019
This message is a warning to any organization involved in the purchase of electronic components. A man by the name of Nick Martin has created, and/or is affiliated with, numerous companies and websites that fraudulently advertise to have hundreds of thousands of line items of inventory in stock or on consignment when, in fact, the parts are not in stock and consignment agreements appear highly unlikely. It is more likely that, upon receipt of a request for quote, Martin is sourcing untraceable product in the open market, including the Chinese open market. Martin and his co-conspirators require payment in advance but have reportedly either failed to ship the ordered product and failed to refund monies paid in advance, have shipped the incorrect quantity, or have shipped nonconforming parts.
TAGS
Anne-Liese Heinichen
05/02/2019
In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford’s character is forced by a Nazi cooperator to find the Holy Grail to save his father from certain death. From a table replete with various different chalices, the evil Nazi incorrectly chooses the most ornate one and subsequently dies. The Crusader knight that has been guarding the Grail admonishes, “he chose poorly”. Indiana Jones picks the simple wooden chalice by intuitively guessing it would be the cup of a carpenter (Jesus) and saves the day. The Crusader knight confirms his choice with, “you have chosen wisely”. Unfortunately, selecting a supplier for your organization is not as cut and dry as in the movies. Recent examples reported by ERAI highlight extra steps that you should take prior to adding a company to your AVL.
TAGS
Anne-Liese Heinichen
03/05/2019
A new class has been added to InterCEPT’s suite of counterfeit inspection and testing of electronic parts study course. TM-04 provides an in-depth discussion of surface testing associated with detecting counterfeit electronic parts. It references both the IDEA 1010B standard and SAE AS6171 requirements for surface inspection. The class includes video footage and images from a test lab to help the student understand how surface testing is performed. Device images are reviewed so that the student can recognize the criteria for acceptance and rejection.
TAGS
Kristal Snider
02/12/2019
This message is a warning to any organization involved in the purchase of electronic components. ERAI has identified numerous websites run by malicious individuals that are paying for premium placement on Google and require payment in advance for goods but never ship the ordered product. These sites have been set up with the intent to commit fraud. Dozens of victims have come forward sharing nearly identical experiences.
TAGS
Anne-Liese Heinichen
01/24/2019
Independent distributor Rogelio Vasquez, aka Roger Vasquez aka James Harrison, pleaded guilty on December 27, 2018 to knowingly supplying counterfeit parts to the US military including parts that were historically used in military applications including the B-1 Lancer Bomber aircraft. If the counterfeit ICs had been used in the B-1, they, “would have likely caused impairment of the combat operations, or other significant harm to a combat operation because a failure of the counterfeit ICs would impact the B-1’s operational capabilities."
TAGS
Anne-Liese Heinichen
11/14/2018
In recent months, ERAI has noted an increase in unsolicited emails that contain malicious software attachments. Malicious software, or “malware”, can be used to steal personal and/or corporate information and commit fraud for financial and economic gains by individuals, corporations, criminals, terrorists or governments. ERAI has added a new type of alert to the ERAI database to warn ERAI subscribers of this potential risk.
TAGS
Anne-Liese Heinichen
08/09/2018
As a response to China’s “unfair” trade practices related to the transfer of American intellectual property and technology, a 25% tariff went into effect on July 6, 2018. The tariff covers 818 product types, as defined by their corresponding Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTS”) codes, manufactured in China and imported into the United States. This article aims to clarify how the tariff is assessed and applied by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and provides sample scenarios and additional information in a question and answer format.
TAGS
07/11/2018
On October 30, 2016, SAE International released aerospace standard AS6171 in order to standardize "inspection and test procedures, workmanship criteria, and minimum training and certification requirements to detect Suspect/Counterfeit (SC) Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) parts." The standard is intended to be implemented on parts that do not have traceability to the Original Component Manufacturer, on parts that have been purchased from brokers or independent distributors, or parts where the end user is concerned about the potential of suspect counterfeit parts.
TAGS
Kristal Snider
06/18/2018
In the Q2-2016 edition of INSIGHT, readers were encouraged to become familiar with and support H.R. 5579, the Secure-E-waste Export Recycling Act (SEERA), a bill that was introduced to control the export of electronic waste in order to ensure that such waste does not become a source of counterfeit goods that may reenter military and civilian electronics supply chains. Along with two previous bipartisan bills, H.R. 2284 and H.R. 2791, Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, H.R. 5579 fell short of becoming a law or “died” in the 114th Congress. A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law. Legislation not enacted by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books. On February 7, 2017 H.R. 917: Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act, picked up where H.R. 5579 left off and was introduced into the 115th Congress where it was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
TAGS