The FBI arrested Jamshid Ghomi, a 63-year-old dual US-Iranian national, at his $35 million Newport Coast, California mansion on June 3. The charges: conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by funneling American-made networking, security, and encryption hardware to Iranian customers tied to the country’s military and nuclear programs.
Ghomi, the CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), allegedly ran this operation for over a decade without ever obtaining the required licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Federal prosecutors made clear they intend to throw the book at him.
“We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion.”
What Ghomi allegedly did
The scheme was, at its core, a supply chain operation. Ghomi’s company, FPR, allegedly procured US-origin networking and encryption hardware, then shipped it to entities inside Iran. The end users reportedly included organizations connected to Iran’s military apparatus and its nuclear program.
