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Florida Man Sentenced to Prison for Selling Counterfeit Software to U.S. Military
Our favorite state strikes again
(Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jonathan Young)
A Florida resident, Onur Aksoy, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme selling counterfeit computer software, which ultimately found its way into the hands of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, among others. Aksoy, 40, who holds dual American and Turkish citizenship, was convicted for selling tens of thousands of counterfeit Cisco computer software over nearly a decade, with the knockoff products being utilized in highly sensitive governmental applications, including classified information systems.
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According to the Department of Justice, Aksoy’s counterfeit Cisco devices were discovered on military bases, being utilized in both combat and non-combat operations by various branches of the military. These counterfeit products were even found in flight simulators for aircraft like the U.S. Air Force’s F-15 and the U.S. Navy’s P-8, as well as supporting systems for aircraft such as the F-18, F-22, and B-52.
Aksoy operated under several companies and fronts, collectively known as Pro Network Entities, to sell low-quality or dysfunctional computer software packages imported from China and Hong Kong. The scheme involved the use of fake Cisco labels to make the packages appear genuine, and if the counterfeit items sold were real, they would have amounted to an estimated worth of $1 billion.
The sentencing of Aksoy marks the conclusion of his years-long scheme, during which he received cease and desist letters from Cisco between 2014 and 2019. He pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2023 and agreed to pay $100 million to Cisco as part of his plea. Additional restitution to victims is yet to be determined.
However, neither the Department of Justice nor the Department of Defense have disclosed how Aksoy’s fake Cisco components made their way into the military’s hands or where in the supply chain they originated from. The extent of the impact on military facilities and the duration for which the faulty and counterfeit products were in use remain unclear.
In response to Aksoy’s sentencing, Special Agent in Charge Bryan D. Denny with the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General emphasized the detrimental effects of Aksoy’s scheme on U.S. military readiness and wastage of taxpayer dollars.
