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U.S. Arrests Iran-Linked Tech CEO at $35 Million Newport Coast Home

Prosecutors say his Tehran firm secretly routed U.S. networking and encryption equipment to Iran’s nuclear and defense agencies, prompting plans to seize assets and press criminal charges.

Overview

  • Federal agents arrested Jamshid Ghomi at his Newport Coast mansion on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, and charged him with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
  • The Justice Department alleges Ghomi used his Tehran company, Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh, to buy and ship U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption gear to Iranian customers tied to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Ministry of Defense.
  • Prosecutors say the scheme ran for more than a decade and relied on personal eBay and PayPal buys, UAE front companies, freight forwarders in Dubai, falsified invoices, and transshipment to hide Iran as the true destination.
  • Authorities allege Ghomi laundered over $15 million into U.S. accounts, misreported those funds to the IRS, and used the proceeds to build his $35 million Newport Coast home, which prosecutors say they will seek to forfeit.
  • The case is a coordinated investigation by DOJ, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Commerce’s BIS, and Treasury/OFAC, and if convicted Ghomi faces up to 20 years in prison while the probe continues.