Federal agents arrested a California tech executive living in a $35 million Newport Coast mansion after prosecutors accused him of illegally supplying controlled American technology to Iran’s nuclear weapons program while reporting just $20,000 in annual income to the IRS.

Dual Citizen Faces 20 Years for Iran Smuggling Operation

Jamshid Ghomi, a 63-year-old dual U.S.-Iranian citizen who runs Tehran-based firm Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd., now faces federal conspiracy charges for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Department of Justice alleges Ghomi purchased hundreds of controlled items through eBay, PayPal, and direct orders from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska, then routed them through United Arab Emirates front companies to bypass Treasury Department licensing requirements. Prosecutors are moving to seize his mansion and other assets they claim were purchased with proceeds from the illegal operation.

Between 2014 and 2018, Ghomi and associates smuggled more than 250 metric tons of networking equipment into Iran, according to federal authorities. Much of that technology went directly to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the regime entity responsible for uranium enrichment and centrifuge programs, and to Iran’s Ministry of Defense. Internal communications show Ghomi and his co-conspirators referred to Iran as the Motherland when discussing equipment procurement.

$15 Million Hidden as Fake Inheritance

From 2011 to 2024, Ghomi moved more than $15 million in proceeds from his Iran business into American bank accounts and a construction escrow account used to build his mansion, prosecutors allege. He falsely reported those funds to the IRS as a foreign inheritance. Federal tax returns show Ghomi claimed just $20,000 in annual income despite living in one of California’s most expensive properties. He purchased the vacant Newport Coast lot in 2010 for $4.49 million and spent another $10.49 million constructing the residence. More than $7 million in foreign wires from trading companies tied to his Iran operation flowed into the escrow account between 2011 and 2015.

Deliberate Concealment of Illegal Exports

Ghomi used his personal eBay and PayPal accounts to make more than 400 purchases of computer networking equipment from 2011 to 2015, directing shipments to intermediaries in the UAE. He instructed co-conspirators to keep his name off shipping paperwork, omit invoices from Iran-bound shipments, and hide controlled items inside larger freight containers. Federal authorities say Ghomi personally received warnings on invoices and software licenses stating that exporting these goods to Iran was prohibited. None of the items could be lawfully exported to Iran without Treasury Department approval, which Ghomi never obtained.