Topline
Jamshid Ghomi, a U.S.-Iranian national and CEO of a Tehran-based tech firm, was arrested Wednesday over allegations he funneled U.S. networking and encryption equipment to Iran’s nuclear program and military while laundering millions of dollars.
Ghomi’s Newport Beach mansion.
Department of Justice
Key Facts
Ghomi, 63, was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law allowing the U.S. president to freeze foreign assets during a national emergency.
Prosecutors have alleged Ghomi’s company, Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh, supplied U.S. networking and security equipment to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization from 2017 to 2023 and to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics between 2014 and 2022, according to the Justice Department.
Ghomi allegedly laundered more than $15 million from Iran into U.S. bank accounts and a construction escrow account, the Justice Department said, saying he falsely reported the funds as foreign inheritance and noting his federal tax returns reported almost no income.
Prosecutors will attempt to seize Ghomi’s assets, which include a $35 million mansion in Newport Beach, California.
The mansion was funded by Ghomi’s alleged scheme, with more than $7 million coming from foreign wire transfers from May 2011 to August 2015, according to prosecutors.
What To Watch For
Ghomi faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Big Number
Nearly $10.5 million. That is about how much Ghomi paid to construct his mansion after purchasing a vacant lot on the Newport Coast for almost $4.5 million.
Key Background
Ghomi’s tech company brings in over $10 million in sales each year while serving the Iranian government and private companies, some of which are subject to U.S. sanctions, according to the Justice Department. The CEO purchased and organized the shipment of U.S. technology for his company, using personal eBay and PayPal accounts to make over 400 purchases of computer-networking equipment that was directed through intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates. Ghomi’s arrest comes as President Donald Trump has either reimposed or expanded sanctions against Iran’s financial institutions, manufacturing companies and energy exports amid an ongoing war against the country.
Tangent
Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Ghomi is accused of violating as justification for his sweeping tariffs impacting nearly every country, though the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs earlier this year and ruled earlier this year the law does not give Trump the power to enact them.
Leave a comment