Efraim Diveroli is an American writer and former arms dealer born on December 20, 1985, in Miami Beach, Florida. Before his meteoric rise to prominence, he had a difficult beginning. He enjoyed great popularity after he began supplying advanced weapons to the United States Department of Defense through his company AEY Inc.
Diveroli’s business with the U.S. Department of Defense reached its lowest point after it was discovered that he had delivered an inferior weapon to the Department. The weapon in question was a 42-year-old, inferior, and unusable Chinese ammunition, which he tried to rebrand and repackage in an attempt to defraud the Defense Department.
Efraim and his business colleague David Packouz, who were 21 and 25 years old at the time of the incident respectively, were later exposed as violations of the American arms embargo on China.
After a review of the US Army’s contract awarding procedure, the couple was found guilty and Diveroli was sentenced on 4 January 2011 to four years behind bars in federal prison, while Packouz was sentenced to seven months’ house arrest.
Early Life and Age
The former arms dealer, born in Miami Beach on December 20, 1985, is the son of Michael Diveroli (father) and Ateret Diveroli (mother). He has two siblings whose names are not publicly known.
He was born and raised in a Jewish Ordothox family known for upholding all traditional Jewish laws. Doveroli’s grandfather, Yoav Botach, is said to be one of the richest landowners in Los Angeles, while his uncle is none other than Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a well-known American Jewish teacher, public speaker, television presenter, and author.
ALSO READ: Debi Thomas Bio, Husband, Son, Parents, Family, Quick Facts
Efraim Diveroli’s Relationship with David Packouz
The name David Packouz is as popular in the American arms trade as Efraim Diveroli. Packouz, an American musician, entrepreneur, and inventor became Efraim’s partner in his arms trade business in 2005 at the age of 23.
Diveroli, who had a fondness for the arms trade at a young age, started his career in March 2001 at the age of 16 after a fight with his uncle. He started working under the company name AEY, Inc. to pursue his interest in the arms trade.
The Miami Beach-based arms dealer began to be successful shortly after the company was founded because he made so much money from contracts and deals. As it turned out, Efraim started dealing with heavy weapons in a one-room apartment in Miami that only had a laptop. He counted his first millions at the age of eighteen. This feat was made possible by the number of orders he received from the American government’s fbo.gov website for contracts.
The financial help of Ralph Merrill, an employee at his former workplace, helped him tender for small orders and beat out megacorporations like BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed.
Following a steady increase in orders and a track record of success, AEY, Inc. was awarded a whopping $298 million contract by the Pentagon to supply ammunition and weapons to the Allied forces in Afghanistan.
However, Efraim Diveroli’s business took a turn for the worse on March 27, 2008, when the company was suspended by the U.S. government for breach of contract and accused of supplying ammunition manufactured in China to the Afghan army and police.
It was discovered that in 2007 his company had signed contracts for the supply of assault rifles, ammunition, and other weapons with a total net worth of over $200 million, which led to a review of its contracting procedures by the United States Army. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the United States House of Representatives found the weapons he had supplied to be “unusable” and accused Efraim Diveroli of having failed to act on numerous previous contracts.
While awaiting his trial. Diveroli received a harsher blow when David Packouz and the chief financier Ralph Merrill filed separate lawsuits against him, demanding the money he owed them in connection with the weapons contract with the US Department of Defense. Unimpressed by the lawsuits, Diverolis’ company Ammoworks continued to sell weapons until he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in late August 2008 and was sentenced to four years in prison for also possessing a gun while in prison.
ALSO READ: Kimberly Woolen: Here Are 6 Quick Facts You Need To Know
In the long run, Efraim’s overall sentence was reduced because he helped investigate the crime, while David Packouz was sentenced to seven months’ house arrest for conspiracy to defraud the US government.
Where Is Efraim Diveroli Now?
The business of the Maima Beach arms dealer may have reached Waterloo after Efraim’s conviction for conspiracy and a criminal in possession of a firearm and his subsequent imprisonment, but the American author is currently making a name for himself in the entertainment industry after his release in August 2014.
Where Efraim Diveroli is now, he lives in Miami, Florida. In 2016, the popular Jewish director Todd Phillips made Efraim and his business partner David Packouz the subject of his television drama comedy entitled War Dogs. Jonah Hill portrayed Efraim and Miles Teller, David.
He has a memoir entitled Once a Gun Runner. The memoirs written by Matthew B. Cox, a fellow inmate of Diveroli’s, in prison, are about Efraim Daveroli being the youngest international arms dealer of all time.
Meanwhile, David works as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a music company called Singular Sound. In partnership with the organization Guitars Over Guns, he presents his musical products to underprivileged youth.
