Palos Hills Man Gets 4 Years For Sending Gun Parts To Israel

PALOS HILLS, IL —A Palos Hills man who pleaded guilty to federal charges in August for allegedly illegally shipping firearm parts to Israel has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison.

Amin Betuni, 37, admitted in a plea agreement to shipping firearm parts to parties in Israel on at least three occasions in 2022 — including rifle barrels, gas blocks for rifles, and bolt carrier groups. Federal agents allege that Betuni put false information on the shipping labels and concealed firearm parts in boxes for auto parts or George Foreman grills. The firearm parts were subject to federal export regulations, which required a license or written approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce, neither of which was acquired by Betuni, federal prosecutors said.

During a court-authorized search of Betuni’s residence in Palos Hills in December 2022, law enforcement were alleged to have found more than 1,200 rounds of associated ammunition, a shotgun rifle, a handgun, additional bolt carrier groups, and three firearm conversions devices, also known as “Glock switches,” which equip semi-automatic firearms to fire multi[le rounds with a single pull of the trigger.

>>> IL Man Sent Gun Parts To Israel Disguised As George Foreman Grills, Auto Parts

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security came across Betuni’s Apple iCloud account. The federal complaint alleges that law enforcement found numerous photos saved between 2017 and 2018 of what appeared to be Betuni and a young child posing with various rifles equipped with drum magazines.

There were also pictures and video of Betuni with rifles with silencers, and photos of Glocks with auto-rear switches enabling the firearms to function as a machine gun. Agents also found instructions on how to install a switch on a Glock.

According to the federal complaint, Agents also searched Betuni’s residence when he was not home in December 2022, and found $20,000 in cash, approximately 28 pounds of marijuana that was vacuum sealed in approximate one-pound quantities, a silencer and silencer components, a Glock Model 26 pistol, a maverick Arms Model 88 12-gauge shotgun, a SIG Sauer Model M400 rifle, several large capacity drum magazines, bulk quantities of ammunition, and three Glock auto-sear switches.

Three suspected Glock auto-sear switches were found in a Band-aid box in his closet, the feds said.

Betuni’s arrest and conviction were the result of a years-long, multi-agency investigation between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners.

“Export-control violations are critically important because they undermine federal laws and regulations that seek to protect international security,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Pasqual in a news release. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to relentlessly pursue those who seek to exploit U.S. export-control laws for financial gain.”