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Jamshid Ghomi, a dual US-Iranian nationalist and CEO of an Iran-based exertion institution has been arrested contiguous connected a national transgression complaint. As per a property merchandise filed by U.S.
Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Ghomi is accused of violating US sanctions against Iran by shipping blase US-origin networking, security, and encryption instrumentality for Iranian customers — including the Iranian regime’s atomic and subject establishment. Ghomi, 33, is simply a nonmigratory of Newport Coast, California and has been charged with conspiracy to interruption the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.In a statement, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said: “Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling U.S.-origin machine networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars successful usurpation of U.S. authorisation laws. Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing concern with 1 of the world’s largest authorities sponsors of coercion indispensable beryllium enforced and obeyed. We volition clasp him accountable by seeking an due situation condemnation and by seizing his assets, including his $35 cardinal Newport Beach mansion.
”Darren Lian, Acting Special Agent successful Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office said: “Today’s apprehension reflects our committedness to disrupt the amerciable travel of American exertion to overseas nations, particularly our adversaries. As alleged, Mr. Ghomi spent years exploiting United States fiscal systems and procurement channels to determination controlled instrumentality to Iran portion hiding his activities down beforehand companies and falsified documentation.
We volition proceed to enactment with our partners to safeguard nationalist information by utilizing our fiscal investigative expertise.”
Jamshid Ghomi accused of shipping US-origin machine networking parts to Iran’s Nuclear and Military establishment
According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, Ghomi is the founder, owner, and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), a Tehran-based machine networking company. For much than a decade, Ghomi has utilized FPR to procure U.S.-origin networking instrumentality for customers successful Iran successful usurpation of U.S.
sanctions. At nary clip did Ghomi oregon FPR get a licence from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorizing those transactions.As stated successful the authoritative property release, Ghomi identified, negotiated, purchased, and arranged the shipment of ample quantities of controlled U.S. exertion for his ain company. From 2011 to 2023, helium utilized his ain eBay and PayPal accounts to marque hundreds of purchases of computer-networking equipment, directing the goods to intermediaries successful the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In 2023, Ghomi personally negotiated the acquisition of U.S.-origin networking instrumentality straight from suppliers successful Minnesota and Nebraska, routing it done a UAE beforehand institution and connected to FPR successful Iran. None of these items could beryllium lawfully exported to Iran without a licence from OFAC.From 2014 to 2018, Ghomi arranged the smuggling of much than 250 metric tons (275.6 U.S. tons) of networking instrumentality into Iran, utilizing freight forwarders and intermediaries successful Dubai to disguise that Iran was the existent destination, the merchandise stated."Ghomi knew this behaviour was amerciable and took deliberate steps to conceal it. He directed his UAE co-conspirators to support his sanction disconnected shipping paperwork, to omit invoices from shipments bound for Iran, and connected astatine slightest 2 occasions to fell U.S.-origin machine instrumentality wrong larger shipments. He utilized beforehand companies successful the UAE to obscure his role, and helium personally received warnings connected invoices and bundle licenses that exporting these goods to Iran was prohibited.
Ghomi and his co-conspirators referred to Iran arsenic “Motherland” successful their interior correspondence concerning the equipment’s procurement," it said.
Jamshid Ghomi's institution clientele see Iranian companies and authorities entities
The merchandise said that FPR’s yearly income exceeded $10 million, and its clientele included hundreds of Iranian companies and authorities entities, galore of which were taxable to U.S. sanctions. A comparatively tiny but important information of that concern went to the astir delicate end-users successful Iran: the Iranian regime’s atomic and subject establishment.From 2017 to 2023, FPR supplied U.S.-origin machine networking instrumentality to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) – the Iranian authorities bureau liable for Iran’s atomic program, including its centrifuge and uranium-enrichment programs. The U.S. State Department sanctioned AEOI successful 2020 for playing a starring relation successful Iran's nonperformance of its atomic commitments, including exceeding the limits connected its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels.
According to the affidavit, AEOI required FPR to registry arsenic an approved vendor, which it did successful 2021 and 2022. From 2014 to 2022, FPR supplied U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption instrumentality to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — the Iranian ministry liable for research, development, and manufacturing crossed Iran’s defence endeavor -- and to affiliated subject and defense-electronics entities.
FPR’s 2017 declaration with Iran Computer Industries, signed by Ghomi, expressly identified the purchaser arsenic the “Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — Iran Computer Industries.
”Ghomi laundered the proceeds of his amerciable concern into the United States, depositing FPR’s Iranian income gross into its operating relationship astatine a sanctioned Iranian slope and past sweeping those funds to himself. Within days, helium received matching wires into his U.S.
accounts from a rotating acceptable of unrelated trading companies and speech houses successful the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE. Those wires bore mendacious descriptions specified arsenic “Buying Goods” and “For Consulting Fees.
”From 2011 to 2024, Ghomi moved much than $15 cardinal from Iran into his U.S. slope accounts and into a operation escrow relationship held connected his behalf. He falsely reported those funds to the IRS arsenic a overseas inheritance.
Ghomi’s national taxation returns reported astir nary income, his highest reported income successful immoderate twelvemonth being $20,684. Ghomi claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, a national taxation interruption for low- to moderate-income moving individuals and families, successful 7 antithetic taxation years.
Over the aforesaid period, Ghomi reported much than $1.7 cardinal successful home-mortgage involvement and $1.25 cardinal successful authorities and section real-estate taxes connected his national income taxation returns.Ghomi funded the operation of his Orange County mansion with the proceeds of his sanctions-evasion scheme. Ghomi purchased a vacant batch successful Newport Coast successful March 2010 for $4,490,000 and paid astir $10,490,371 to conception the residence from 2010 to 2013. From May 2011 to August 2015, foreign-source wires totaling much than $7 cardinal flowed into the escrow relationship backing the home’s construction. These wires came from galore of the aforesaid trading companies arsenic the transfers from FPR’s operating account, were handled by the aforesaid FPR employees, and bore the aforesaid mendacious descriptions.
What rules accidental connected US’ export to Iran
The IEEPA and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) enforce controls and restrictions connected transactions involving Iran based connected the threats posed by Iran to the nationalist information of the United States, including its pursuit of atomic weapons and sponsorship of terrorism. The IEEPA and ITSR prohibit the export, re-export, sale, oregon supply, straight oregon indirectly, from the United States oregon by a United States person, wherever located, of immoderate goods, technology, oregon services to Iran oregon the Government of Iran without archetypal obtaining authorization from OFAC.
What’s next
If convicted, Ghomi would look a statutory maximum condemnation of 20 years successful national prison, the merchandise said. IRS Criminal Investigation, successful coordination with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, is investigating this matter.
