Palos Hills man sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for shipping firearm parts to Israel

A southwest suburban man has been sentenced to almost four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally mailing firearm parts to Israel.

That 46-month sentence was handed down Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Kness.

Amin Betuni, 37, of Palos Hills, shipped various firearm components at least three times in 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

The parts included rifle barrels, gas blocks for rifles and bolt carrier groups. Betuni packed the firearm pieces with auto parts and George Foreman grills in packages with false shipping labels, prosecutors said.

Betuni failed to obtain the required license or written approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce to ship firearm parts, which are subject to federal export regulations, prosecutors said.

A search of Betuni’s home in December 2022 led law enforcement to seize more than 1,200 rounds of assorted ammunition, a shotgun, rifle and handgun. They also found several bolt carrier groups and three "switch" devices, which illegally convert handguns into automatic weapons that fire continuously with just one pull of the trigger.

Betuni pleaded guilty in August to knowingly and fraudulently exporting firearm parts.