A California businessman has been charged with conspiracy for supplying U.S. computer networking equipment to Iran, including organizations linked to the country’s nuclear and military sectors. The U.S. Justice Department revealed these charges against Jamshid Ghomi, 63, from Newport Coast, Calif.
Mr. Ghomi, a dual citizen of Iran and the United States, faces accusations of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. He serves as the chief executive of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh, a technology company based in Tehran. The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
According to the federal complaint, from 2011 through 2023, Mr. Ghomi acquired large amounts of American-made technology and routed it through intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates before reaching customers in Iran. This equipment required authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department for legal export to Iran.
The complaint states that over more than ten years, Mr. Ghomi personally obtained significant quantities of forbidden networking equipment, mainly through eBay, and managed their shipment. Prosecutors listed the equipment as including routers, firewalls, switches, and modules, manufactured by companies like Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Extreme Networks, and Hewlett-Packard.
The complaint further details that from 2017 to 2023, Mr. Ghomi’s company supplied equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, responsible for Iran’s nuclear program. Additionally, from 2014 to 2022, the company sold networking, security, and encryption equipment to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and associated military entities.
“Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed,”
stated Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. If convicted, Mr. Ghomi could face up to 20 years in federal prison. His attorney has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Officials indicated that Mr. Ghomi transferred proceeds from sales through a network of companies and exchange houses in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands. Federal investigators reported the movement of more than $15 million from Iran into accounts linked to Mr. Ghomi between 2011 and 2024. He declared this as a foreign inheritance while reporting minimal annual income on his tax returns.
Mr. Ghomi’s initial court appearance took place on Wednesday, where he did not enter a plea, as noted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. This case adds to ongoing U.S. government efforts to restrict Iran, Russia, and China from accessing American technology. The Justice and Commerce Departments have closely collaborated to enforce laws limiting critical technology transfer to rival countries.
Research contributions were made by Kitty Bennett and Kirsten Noyes. Mark Walker, a Times reporter, covers breaking news and culture.