John Roberts, 27, was the sole defendant in this week's federal trial. Six soldiers involved in the scheme, as well as civilian business partner Cory Wilson, made plea deals in exchange for their testimony.
According to Wilson's testimony, he and Roberts would find soldiers selling military items through classified ads or on Facebook, and then convince them to pilfer more rare items for resale through their multiple accounts on eBay.
Michael Barlow, a former Fort Campbell platoon sergeant involved in the case, testified that the soldiers deployed in Afghanistan would be given wish lists of equipment Roberts wanted them to steal and bring back to America.
The ring was busted in October 2016, less than two years after US Customs and Border Protection intercepted a military flight helmet Roberts was attempting to ship overseas.
Roberts claimed that he did not realize the gear he received from the soldiers was stolen, asserting that he considered the loot to be Army discards.
"I didn't try to hide anything," he claimed during the Wednesday proceedings, as reported by the Herald.
"That's why I filed taxes on everything I sold on eBay. I thought it was OK."
On Thursday, a federal jury found Roberts guilty of conspiracy to steal and sell government property, two counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act and 10 counts of wire fraud.
Roberts faces up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud and arms export violations.
