NEW YORK (1010 WINS/ WCBS 880 NEWS) – A New Jersey chief executive officer was charged on Thursday for fraudulently selling nearly $35 million worth of banned Chinese surveillance cameras and equipment to various New Jersey public safety and law enforcement agencies, according to prosecutors.
Tamer Zakhary, 49, of Toms River, New Jersey, who ran a company selling Chinese surveillance cameras and equipment from August 2019 to December 2022, falsely claimed his products met U.S. regulations, according to the indictment.
He allegedly told buyers his products complied with the National Defense Authorization Act which prohibits the use of certain Chinese surveillance and telecommunications equipment in U.S. government systems, authorities said.
According to an FBI complaint, Zakhar modified license-plate readers and other cameras, subsequently removing the original company's logo. He then sold the equipment to prosecutors' offices, sheriffs' offices, police departments, and townships through his company, listed online as Packetalk.
The agencies bought at least $35 million worth of this equipment from Zakhary’s company, with over $15 million coming from COVID-19 relief and other federal funding.
Zakhary was charged by complaint with three counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements.
He was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
The wire fraud charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The false statements charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.