Sugar Land man charged with Marine computer scam

Sugar Land man charged with Marine computer scam
By MARY FLOOD HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 12, 2009, 6:37PM

A Sugar Land man was arrested Thursday on a charge of selling counterfeit computers to the U.S. Marine Corps for use in Iraq.

Ehab Ashoor, 48, was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of trafficking in counterfeit Cisco computer products, U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson announced.

According to the indictment, the Marine Corps solicited bids for 200 Cisco gigabit interface converters — hardware that allows computers to communicate with one another — that were to be used in connection with Iraq operations.

Genuine Cisco products were required and the bid specs read: “We have experience with substitute brands that do not deliver the required performance and cause signal attenuations and degrade beyond use before the required distance.

“Not only is this a quality issue it is a possible security issue.”

Ashoor and his company, CDS Federal Inc., were awarded the contract but instead provided the Marines with counterfeits, the prosecutor said.

Ashoor was arrested at his home by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If convicted, Ashoor faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

mary.flood@chron.com

Ellie