A man who falsely sold Chinese-made body armor as U.S.-certified and domestically produced equipment to American law enforcement has been sentenced to over five years in prison and ordered to pay $5.2 million in restitution, closing a case that exposed a deceptive scheme with national security implications.
Vall Iliev, 70, owner of ShotStop Ballistics LLC in Stow, Ohio, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to smuggle goods, counterfeit trafficking, and fraud. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent sentenced him to five years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Armor Smuggling Uncovered at Border
The operation unraveled in May 2023, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a Canada-registered truck entering at Blaine, Washington. Inside, they discovered over 200 body armor plates from China, tucked away inside a massive shipping container linked to Iliev’s business and residence addresses.
According to a Justice Department statement, Iliev then processed the armor at his warehouse and sold it via his ShotStop website, falsely marketing the products as American-made and NIJ-certified — the gold standard for ballistic armor used by police departments across the country.
