Picone acknowledged that failure of the parts could have led to catastrophic consequences.
A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to three years in prison for importing counterfeit electronic components from China and Hong Kong for use by American customers, including builders of the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarines.
Peter Picone of Methuen, Massachusetts, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut.
The 42-year-old pleaded guilty in June 2014 to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit military goods. In addition to the prison sentence of three years and one month, the judge ordered him to pay $352,076 in restitution to 31 companies whose circuits he counterfeited.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said Picone sold counterfeit integrated circuits knowing that the parts were intended for use in nuclear submarines.
At his plea hearing, Picone acknowledged that failure of the parts could have led to catastrophic consequences.
