On January 6, 2014, Mark Mason Alexander (also known as Musa Mahmood Ahmed) was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sending waterjet cutting machines to Iran without the required authorization, in violation of the U.S. trade embargo. The machines are used for the precision cutting of materials, including aluminum, glass and steel, and cost between $120,000 and $180,000 each. As CEO and part owner of Hydrajet Technology of Dalton, Georgia, Alexander shipped waterjet cutting machines from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates. The machines were first sent from the United States to Hydrajet Mena, a company established by the partners of Hydrajet Technology to distribute waterjet cutting machines in the Middle East, and then forwarded to the Iranian firms Negin Sanat Sadr (also known as Negin Steel Company) and Parand Machine Company. Alexander conspired with two Iranian businessmen, Ali Shojaei and Karim Babakhani, to sell the machines to customers in Iran. Shojaei is managing director of the trading company Parsiyan Pardis. Babakhani, a representative for Parand Machine, arranged for Hydrajet Mena to install the devices at Negin Steel and Parand Machine Company. Both Babakhani and Shojaei were also indicted but remain at large. Alexander is appealing his sentence.