A Kansas National Guard member is facing up to 20 years in prison and is now accused of violating the Export Control Reform Act. The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) announced last week that Canyon Anthony Amarys, 28, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was indicted for an attempted violation of the act. Following his arrest, he made his initial court appearance on Thursday.
Amarys allegedly agreed to take pictures of the Fort Riley military installation and to obtain a helicopter radio, which he would supply to the Russian military. The indictment claimed that “in February 2025, at an in-person meeting between Amarys and someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence agent, Amarys signed a one-page agreement in order to confirm his covert relationship with a Russian intelligence service.” He further agreed to take the photos and to procure the radio.
A month later, Amarys traveled from New Mexico to Kansas to retrieve the radio he had purchased, after which he was planning to export it to a purported recipient in Romania.
“In doing so, Amarys communicated with a person he believed to be a Russian intelligence agent, and confirmed his understanding that the radio would in fact be illegally diverted to Russia,” the DoJ explained.
The radio that Amarys had acquired for illegal export to Russia was recovered. The DoJ added that the National Guardsman understood that shipping the radio aboard was illegal, and that he believed the person it was being sent to was a Russian intelligence agent.
The export of the controlled item, the helicopter radio, without a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce was unlawful.
The FBI’s Kansas City field office is investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, the Kansas National Guard, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
It was not reported how much Amarys was to have been paid for providing the photos or the radio.
Violating the ERCA
The Export Control Reform Act of 2018 grants the president authority to control the export of technology and goods, notably those deemed essential to national security. It expanded on existing control regulations and requires interagency processes to identify and control “emerging” or “foundational” technologies that could pose a national security risk.
The ERCA further includes provisions aimed at controlling certain goods, particularly those destined for countries of concern, and imposing penalties for violations. It replaced the previous Export Administration Act of 1979, which expired in 2001. From that year to 2018, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the U.S. Department of Commerce, were maintained in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Unlike the ERA, the ECRA doesn’t have a “sunset provision,” and it will remain in effect until it is amended or repealed.
According to the DoJ, Amarys had “researched export regulations in anticipation of [his] meeting [with the Russian intelligence agent] in February 2025.”
Selling Government Property
Amary’s arrest comes just two months after a U.S. Army officer pleaded guilty to selling stolen items from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Capt. Jacob Suenkel, 32, was charged with stealing items valued at more than $150,000, which included a Bobcat skid-steer tractor that he attempted to sell on Facebook Marketplace.
Suenkel is now awaiting sentencing.
Last week, a former U.S. Army NCO was also sentenced to four years behind bars and another three years supervised release for attempting to pass military secrets to China.
