California techie who lived in $35 million mansion was arrested and faces up to 20 years in prison for supplying sensitive U.S. equipment to Iran’s military

A California tech executive was arrested at his luxurious ocean-view mansion and charged with illegally providing advanced U.S. networking and encryption equipment to Iran’s nuclear and military agencies for more than a decade, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Jamshid Ghomi, 63, holds dual Iranian-American citizenship. He was detained at his $35 million Newport Beach property and charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Authorities claim he helped funnel sensitive technology to Iran and its defense ministry through a long-running smuggling operation.He is accused of using middlemen in the UAE to make purchases and shipments, including more than 400 transactions through eBay and PayPal between 2011 and 2015. Prosecutors said more than 250 metric tons of network equipment was smuggled into Iran through freight forwarders in Dubai between 2014 and 2018.Ghomi runs the business through his company, Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh (FPR), which has annual sales of more than $10 million. Investigators also claim that the company supplied to Iran’s Ministry of Defense between 2014 and 2022, and to Iran’s nuclear agency between 2017 and 2023.Authorities further accuse Gomi of transferring more than $15 million from Iran to U.S. accounts, falsely describing it as foreign heritage. The money was laundered through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates.Gomi’s personal tax filings show little to no income, with his highest reported annual income being $20,684, and despite his alleged wealth, he claimed the earned income tax credit in seven different years.The case also revealed the size of his holdings. According to the California Post, Gomi purchased a vacant lot in March 2010 for $4.49 million and later spent approximately $10.49 million to build a 14,000-square-foot mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean. More than $7 million in foreign wire transfers related to his company flowed into accounts used to finance construction.Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency came under U.S. sanctions in 2020 and subsequently registered FPR as an approved supplier in 2021 and 2022.“We will hold him accountable by seeking appropriate incarceration and forfeiture of his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.Essally also said Gomi was “helping our open enemies” and “doing business with one of the world’s largest sponsors of terrorism.”Gomi was scheduled to appear in court in Santa Ana, Orange County, where he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.