Published Jun 4, 2026, 9:26 PM EDT
The suspect allegedly supplying US networking equipment illegally to Iran through a sanctions evasion scheme.
Federal prosecutors have charged a California technology executive with participating in a years-long scheme to acquire U.S.-made networking, security and encryption equipment and supply it to customers in Iran, including organizations tied to the country's nuclear and military establishments. The U.S. Department of Justice announced June 3 that Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast, Calif., was arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Prosecutors allege Ghomi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen plus founder, owner and CEO of Tehran-based Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), used the company to procure restricted American technology for Iranian customers despite longstanding U.S. sanctions and export controls. He faces a maximum 20 years in federal prison. According to the DOJ, the alleged operation began in 2011 and continued for more than a decade. Prosecutors contend Ghomi acquired U.S.-origin networking, security and encryption equipment and routed shipments through intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates before the products ultimately reached customers in Iran. Neither Ghomi nor FPR obtained authorization from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to conduct the transactions described in the complaint, according to the DOJ. Prosecutors allege Ghomi personally identified, negotiated, purchased and arranged shipments of U.S.-origin networking equipment for Iranian customers. Between 2011 and 2015, Ghomi allegedly used his personal eBay and PayPal accounts to make more than 400 purchases of computer-networking equipment, directing the products to intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates before they were shipped to Iran. Federal authorities also allege Ghomi personally negotiated purchases of U.S.-origin networking equipment from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska in 2023. According to prosecutors, the products were routed through a UAE front company before reaching FPR in Iran. The Justice Department contends Ghomi knowingly concealed the equipment's true destination. Prosecutors allege he directed associates in the United Arab Emirates to keep his name off shipping documents, omit invoices from shipments bound for Iran and, on at least two occasions, hide U.S.-origin computer equipment inside larger shipments.
