Federal agents arrested a dual United States and Iranian citizen Wednesday for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by supplying its nuclear and military establishment with American equipment.
The Justice Department said 63-year-old Jamshid Ghomi of Newport Coast, California, has been charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Court documents allege that Ghomi, who is the founder, owner and CEO of the Tehran-based computer networking company Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd., used his company for over a decade to procure U.S.-origin networking equipment for customers in Iran without approval from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
He is also accused of taking in more than $10 million annually in sales from his tech company while only reporting a maximum income of $20,000 to the Internal Revenue Service, according to the New York Post.
“Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion.”
The department alleged that Ghomi knew his actions were illegal and even took deliberate steps to conceal it by directing co-conspirators to keep his name off of shipping documents and omit invoices from shipments bound for Iran.
Ghomi is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon at a federal court in Santa Ana, California.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Ghomi is a criminal many times over. The worst of it is treason. Death penalty anyone?
This criminal should not see the light of day for the rest of his life. Ghomi needs to PAY for what he did.
Government should seize everything he owns including the company and put him in a foreign prison with terrorists.
While our government is planning (I hope) to update our immigration laws, I suggest they no longer accept people from the known terrorist countries in the Middle East and none from China. These people have done and are still causing much harm to our country.
While i hope this scum gets what he deserves…Ultimately there are Americans who have helped or ignored these actions for years….I hope they are punished to the fullest also…
You canNOT make this stuff up, ’cause no one would believe you. Seems like this has become the NEW ‘Murican way….sell the USA out, and pocket the $$$$.
How many Ghomis or Changs or whatever are there, that is the question and what exactly is being done about them, are the preventative measures taken to prevent all others like them?
nice. root those crooks out.
I think he needs to be executed for treason, if charges are true, and I firmly believe the DOJ has evidence, else there’d be no charges. I am weary that we hear of these acts, and only find small if any punishment. This is why we hear of this unlawfulness so often
Such treasonous acts require severe legal actions. We should never be allowed to get away with acts against the U.S. or actions that support those who vow to do harm to the U.S.