A photo of the residence of Jamshid Ghomi from a U.S. Department of Justice news release dated June 3, 2026.Department of Justice
Federal prosecutors have indicted a person holding dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship on Wednesday, accusing them of breaching U.S. sanctions against Iran after allegedly spending years supplying computer hardware to Iranian clients and the Iranian administration.
Jamshid Ghomi, aged 63, made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, on Wednesday to confront a charge of conspiracy to contravene the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. He did not enter a plea, and his arraignment has been scheduled for July 13.
Bill Essayli, the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California, stated that Ghomi, the originator and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd., a computer networking firm based in Tehran, spent over a decade acquiring American networking technology and illicitly arranged its transport to the Middle East without any authorization from the U.S. government.
A photo of the residence of Jamshid Ghomi from a U.S. Department of Justice news release dated June 3, 2026.Department of Justice
The accused allegedly funneled the funds through financial channels within the U.S. and utilized a portion of it to acquire a mansion in Orange County, as claimed by Essayli.
“The laws of our nation that prohibit engaging in commerce with one of the world’s foremost state sponsors of terrorism must be upheld and respected,” he remarked.
Legal representation information for Ghomi was not promptly obtainable.
Essayli indicated that the federal authorities are pursuing the confiscation of the mansion.
It is against the law for entities to “export, re-export, sell, or supply, directly or indirectly” any goods and technologies to Iran without explicit permission from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Ghomi purportedly utilized eBay and PayPal accounts from 2011 to 2023 to procure computer networking equipment from U.S. vendors, routed the items to intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates, and, through a shell company, dispatched the goods to Iran, according to prosecuting officials.
“He instructed his UAE accomplices to exclude his name from shipping manifests, to omit invoices from consignments destined for Iran, and on at least two occasions to conceal U.S.-origin computer equipment within larger shipments,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California stated in a declaration.
The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and US Courthouse building is visible in Santa Ana, Calif., on May 28, 2010.Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Ghomi’s enterprise generated annual revenues exceeding $10 million, and his Iranian customer base encompassed Iranian governmental entities, prosecutors allege.
From 2014 to 2022, his company allegedly supplied U.S. “networking, security, and encryption equipment” to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, according to prosecuting officials.
From 2017 to 2023, prosecutors claim Ghomi provided computer networking equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
Ghomi is accused of legitimizing his earnings through financial channels into the U.S., as stated by prosecutors.
From 2011 to 2024, he allegedly transferred over $15 million from Iran to his American bank accounts and into a construction escrow account, according to prosecuting officials.
The subject purportedly purchased an undeveloped plot in Newport Coast in 2010 for close to $4.5 million and invested more than $10 million over three years in constructing his mansion, as reported by prosecutors.
A photo of the residence of Jamshid Ghomi from a U.S. Department of Justice news release dated June 3, 2026.Department of Justice
“From May 2011 to August 2015, foreign-source electronic fund transfers totaling over $7 million were deposited into the escrow account financing the home’s construction,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated in a release.
“These transfers originated from many of the same trading firms as the remittances from FPR’s operational account, were managed by the same FPR personnel, and carried identical falsified descriptions,” they further noted.
Ghomi faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com