US officials have detained Jamshid Ghomi, a dual US-Iranian citizen, accusing him of using his technology company to violate US sanctions by smuggling sensitive computer systems to Iran, including to the country’s nuclear and military establishment. Ghomi, 63, was arrested on Wednesday morning during a raid on his home in Newport Coast in the Los Angeles area, according to a news release from the US Department of Justice.
Ghomi is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Attorney Bill Essayli, leading the prosecution, condemned the alleged scheme on Wednesday. “Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling US-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of US sanction laws,” Essayli said. “Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed.”
According to prosecutors, Ghomi is the owner and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), a computer networking firm based in Tehran. Investigators allege Ghomi began making illegal shipments to Iran in 2011, purchasing sanctioned goods in the US and routing them through the United Arab Emirates. From 2014 to 2018, he is accused of arranging for more than 250 metric tonnes of sophisticated networking, security, and encryption equipment to be sent to Iranian customers.
Prosecutors assert that a portion of this trade was directed at the Iranian regime’s most sensitive organizations. The DOJ release states that “a relatively small but significant portion of that business went to the most sensitive end-users in Iran: the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military establishment.” Ghomi’s company reportedly earned more than $10 million (£7.4 million) in annual sales during the period of alleged illicit activity. He is also accused of taking specific steps to conceal his activities.
Authorities further allege Ghomi concealed his operations and laundered his proceeds. Between 2011 and 2024, he is accused of moving more than $15 million (£11.1 million) to himself through intermediaries located in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE. The funds were falsely reported to tax regulators as a “foreign inheritance.”
Some of the laundered proceeds were allegedly used to finance a luxury lifestyle in California. Prosecutors note Ghomi originally purchased his Orange County property in 2010 for almost $4.5 million (£3.3 million) before spending an additional $10.5 million (£7.8 million) to build a $35 million (£26 million) mansion on the site.
“We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million (£26m) Newport Beach mansion,” Essayli said.
Ghomi appeared in federal court on Wednesday and entered no plea. His arraignment has been scheduled for July 13, according to ABC News. Ghomi has not yet publicly commented on the charges against him.
The arrest unfolds against a backdrop of intensifying friction between Washington and Tehran. The Trump administration accuses Iran of using its nuclear program to pursue atomic weapons, a claim Tehran denies. Amid the sanctions enforcement action, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that diplomatic negotiations with Iran are “going on continuously.”