The U.S. Department of Justice charged five defendants in Texas and New York with conspiring to purchase Iranian oil and sell it to a Chinese refinery in violation of U.S. sanctions. The plan would have used a Polish shell company as a straw seller of the Iranian oil. Two defendants allegedly agreed to open offshore accounts with foreign passports, and defendant David Ray Lane offered to launder money through STACK Royalties, LLC. The defendants face a maximum sentence of 25 years and a fine of up to $1.25 million for counts of conspiracy and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).