California Tech CEO Charged in Alleged Iran Export Scheme

Federal prosecutors arrested Jamshid Ghomi, a 63-year-old dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and CEO of Tehran-based Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), on June 3, 2024, charging him with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The U.S. Department of Justice alleges Ghomi operated a decade-long scheme to acquire U.S.-made networking, security, and encryption equipment and supply it to Iranian customers, including entities tied to Iran’s nuclear and military programs, despite U.S. sanctions. The operation allegedly began in 2011 and continued through 2023, with Ghomi personally negotiating purchases of U.S.-origin equipment from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska, as well as making over 400 purchases via his personal eBay and PayPal accounts. Shipments were routed through intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates before reaching Iran, with Ghomi concealing his involvement by omitting his name from shipping documents and hiding equipment in larger shipments. Prosecutors claim he ignored warnings from invoices and software-license notices prohibiting exports to Iran. FPR, under Ghomi’s leadership, became one of Iran’s largest suppliers of foreign networking equipment, generating annual sales exceeding $10 million and serving hundreds of Iranian companies and government entities. Internal communications reportedly referred to Iran as the 'Motherland,' according to the DOJ. The company supplied U.S.-origin equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), which oversees Iran’s nuclear program, including centrifuge and uranium-enrichment activities. AEOI was sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in 2020 for its nuclear activities. Prosecutors also allege FPR provided equipment to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and another unspecified entity, though the full name was redacted. Ghomi faces a maximum 20 years in federal prison if convicted. Neither Ghomi nor FPR obtained authorization from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for the transactions, which authorities say violated longstanding U.S. export controls.