Efraim Diveroli never saw a gun or bullet he wouldn’t sell.
But it was that mantra that made him a target of the U.S. Government.
Diveroli is accused in a scheme to illegally ship nearly $300 million in Chinese-made ammunition to the Afghan military has agreed to a plea deal that could send him to prison for up to five years.
Under the deal, prosecutors will drop 84 counts of wrongdoing in exchange for the guilty plea to a conspiracy charge. Diveroli, 23, could also be fined up to $250,000.
Diveroli’s plan to profit from war is reminiscent of Nicolas Cage’s character in the movie “Lord of War,” but without the cheesy Russian accent.
Miami’s own “Lord of War” was originally awarded a $298 million U.S. Army contract to provide the ammunition to Afghanistan. The contract forbade Diveroli’s company, AEY Inc., from exporting Chinese ammunition, but prosecutors say the company did it anyway and claimed the rounds were from Albania.
Diveroli had his employees erase the "Made in China" markings on the bullet crates to hide the contents' origins, but it didn't work.
Local
The feds didn’t take the dupe too kindly and now sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 10.
