California Man Was Selling Restricted U.S. Tech to Iran, U.S. Says
Jamshid Ghomi, a California businessman and CEO of an Iran-based tech company, was charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions by selling restricted American networking equipment to Iran’s nuclear and military programs from 2011 to 2023. The Justice Department alleges Ghomi routed over $15 million in proceeds through global accounts and falsely reported it as a foreign inheritance on U.S. tax returns, evading export controls on Cisco, Juniper, and other brands’ hardware.
A California businessman, Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast, was charged by the U.S. Justice Department with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Ghomi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh—a Tehran-based technology firm—allegedly supplied American-made networking equipment, including Cisco, Juniper, and Hewlett-Packard products, to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and Ministry of Defense between 2011 and 2023. Federal prosecutors claim Ghomi purchased restricted tech through eBay and shipped it via intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates to evade U.S. export controls. The equipment, including routers, firewalls, and encryption modules, was sold to entities linked to Iran’s nuclear and military programs, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Investigators found Ghomi transferred over $15 million in sales proceeds from Iran into U.S. and offshore accounts, misrepresenting the funds as a foreign inheritance on his tax returns. The Justice Department described the case as part of broader efforts to enforce sanctions against Iran, Russia, and China by restricting access to critical U.S. technology. Ghomi made his first court appearance on Wednesday but did not enter a plea. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The case follows recent U.S. crackdowns on illegal tech transfers to adversarial nations, with coordination between the Justice and Commerce Departments to tighten export controls.
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