FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Federal agents said they arrested a South Florida arms dealer Thursday for his involvement in a scheme to “ship weapons, parts and tactical accessories to countries that serve as pipelines for artillery destined for the Russian battlefield.”
Records show Maxim Larin faced a Fort Lauderdale federal judge on Thursday; his case, however, is being prosecuted in the Eastern District of New York.
Authorities said Larin, 43, of Plantation, is a naturalized American citizen born in Russia who controls “several” U.S.-based companies.
In a news release, prosecutors said Larin agreed to illegally ship weapons parts and accessories, “including a sophisticated target acquisition system,” to Kazakhstan, a known transshipment location for goods bound for Russia.
Investigators said he was selling the weapons to a co-defendant, whose name was redacted from a federal grand jury indictment, living in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
In the release, prosecutors said Larin “agreed with his Russia-based co-defendant to undervalue and mislabel the contents of the materials he was exporting and “also suggested that certain steps be taken to hide the contents of the parcels he was shipping from U.S. authorities.”
“For example, in approximately December 2022, Larin emailed the co-defendant warning him about parcels with images of ‘soldiers on the packaging. It may be a red flag for the customs if they open it,’” the news release states. “Larin further asked his co-defendant, ‘Would you like us to remove the package boxes, or take a risk with the customs?’”
In one instance, authorities said Larin labeled firearms triggers and charging handles as “clothing, tools and a light switch” before shipping the illegal goods overseas.
Authorities said the “Raptar” long-range target acquisition system never made it to Kazakhstan, however; Homeland Security Investigations agents intercepted it in California.
Larin is facing several charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, smuggling goods from the United States and submission of false export information.
Prosecutors said he’s set to be arraigned in New York federal court “at a later date.”
In the meantime, records show he’s being held in the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail facility on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service as of Friday.
Read the indictment:
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