Efraim Diveroli

Efraim Diveroli

Efraim Diveroli in 2016
Born

Efraim Diveroli
(1985-12-20) December 20, 1985
Miami Beach[1]

Florida, United States
Residence Miami, FL
Occupation Entrepreneur, author, former arms dealer
Criminal penalty 4 years in federal prison
Criminal status Released November 2015
Conviction(s) Conspiracy

Efraim Diveroli (born December 20, 1985[2]) is a businessman, entrepreneur, author and former American arms dealer.[3] His company, AEY Inc., was a major weapons contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. He was indicted on several dozen counts of fraud, and eventually pled guilty to a single count of conspiracy. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison.[4] He is a subject of the upcoming Todd Phillips comedy film, War Dogs, and will be played by Jonah Hill.[5]

Early life

Diveroli was born to Michael and Ateret Diveroli on December 20, 1985 in Miami Beach, Florida to an Orthodox Jewish family who strictly observed all traditional Jewish laws. His grandfather, Yoav Botach, is one of the wealthiest property owners in Los Angeles, and his uncle is controversial celebrity rabbi Shmuley Boteach.[6] At the age of 14, Diveroli went to work for his uncle, who owned a police-supply business located in South Central LA.

Formation of AEY Inc.

Diveroli returned home in March 2004 at the age of sixteen. After a dispute with his uncle, he told his father he wanted to open a business specializing in arms, ammunition trading, and defense contracts with the U.S. Government. He convinced his father to sell him a shell company known as AEY, Inc., named after the first initials of him and his siblings, which his father had incorporated as a small printing business, but hadn’t done anything with in years [3] Diveroli showed a penchant for arms dealing, and quickly made a name for himself within the industry.[4] His young age and apparent talent led local media outlets to label him as an "arms wunderkind".[7] Diveroli struggled with drug addiction, and was also labeled as a "stoner arms dealer" by the media.[4]

The Gray Market Opportunity

During the Cold War, the world was locked in an arms race.[8] Millions of weapons were stashed throughout Eastern Europe, ready for a war with the west. When the Cold War ended, and the immediate threat of violence subsided, arms dealers started moving these vast amounts of weapons.[4] The sales that followed formed the "gray market" where legitimate government sanctioned buyers could procure arms illegally.[9] "The Pentagon needed access to this new aftermarket in order to arm the militias it was creating in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trouble was, it couldn't go into such a murky underworld on its own. It needed proxies to do its dirty work — companies like AEY."[4]

AEY Inc's Early Contracts

Diveroli started working during this period of heavy arms trading as a teenager in a one room apartment located in Miami. Equipped with nothing more than a laptop, he was looking to enter an industry filled with the world's shadiest operators from the seat of his couch.[3][4] He began surfing solicitations on fbo.gov, or FedBizOpps, the government website were contracts are posted. He started bidding on small contracts with the financial help of Ralph Merrill, with whom he did business during his time working for his uncle. By the age of eighteen, Diveroli had become a self-made millionaire by continuing to beat out big corporations like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed and BAE Systems. In the words of Rolling Stone, Diveroli had "an appetite for risk and all-devouring ambition."[4]

Arms career

On March 27, 2008, the U.S. government suspended AEY Inc. for infringing upon the terms of its contract; in violation of a pre-existing arms embargo, the company was accused of supplying ammunition manufactured in China to the Afghan National Army and police. United States Army documents showed that the company totaled more than $200 million in contracts to supply ammunition, assault rifles, and other weapons in 2007. As a result of publicity surrounding the contract, the United States Army began a review of its contracting procedures.[10]

A company Diveroli owns, Ammoworks, continued selling arms while he awaited trial for conspiracy.[11] In late August 2008, he pled guilty on one count of conspiracy, and was sentenced to four years in prison on January 4, 2011.[12][13] He was further sentenced for possessing a weapon while out on bond,[14] and had his overall sentence reduced for assisting in the investigation of the offense.

His former partner, David Packouz, was only sentenced to seven month's house arrest.[4] He later went on to invent a guitar pedal drum machine, the BeatBuddy.[15]

After his release from prison, Diveroli was sued in Florida State court by his cousin, Joseph Wachtel, for extortion.[16]

War Dogs

The story of Diveroli is the subject of an upcoming Todd Phillips comedy film, War Dogs, starring Jonah Hill as Diveroli and Miles Teller as his former partner, David.[5] The film is due for release on August 19, 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "About". Efraim Diveroli. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  2. ↑ "About".
  3. 1 2 3 "About Efraim Diveroli". Once A Gun Runner. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lawson, Guy (2011-03-16). "The Stoner Arms Dealers: How Two American Kids Became Big-Time Weapons Traders". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
  5. 1 2 "Arms & the Dudes: First Photos of Jonah Hill and Miles Teller on the Set - ComingSoon.net". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  6. ↑ Elizabeth Newell Jochum and Robert Brodsky (April 3, 2008). "No record of arms dealer’s certification as disadvantaged business". Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  7. ↑ Miami Herald (September 2, 2010). "South Florida becomes gateway for arms smuggling". Cayman Compass via Miami Herald. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Arms Race - Cold War - HISTORY.com". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  9. ↑ Peterson, Barry. The Black and Gray Market Arms Trade. p. 4.
  10. ↑ Chivers, C.J. (April 27, 2008). "Allegations Lead Army to Review Arms Policy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
  11. ↑ Bullock, Penn (February 3, 2009). "Armed Again". The Miami New Times. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  12. ↑ "Efraim Diveroli Guilty Plea: End of an Arms Era | Miami New Times". Blogs.miaminewtimes.com. 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
  13. ↑ "Miami Gun Runner Gets 4 Years, Says 'Good Times' Weren't Worth It". Tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com. 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
  14. ↑ "Eleventh Circuit Affirming Diveroli's conviction" (PDF). Cases.justia.com. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
  15. ↑ "Miami entrepreneur strikes chord with customers, raises $349,236 on crowdfunding campaign | The Starting Gate". miamiherald.typepad.com. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  16. ↑ "Fla Logistics Firm Accuses Felon Arms Dealer of Shakedown". CLaw360.com. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
Wikinews has related news: United States Army suspends ammo contract for Afghan security forces

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.