SEE IT: Lavish $35M mansion bought by tech CEO accused of feeding US gear to Iran's nuclear machine
A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen accused of helping Iran's military and nuclear program obtain sensitive American technology used millions of dollars in illicit proceeds from the scheme to fund the construction...
By Fox News · Fox News
A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen accused of helping Iran's military and nuclear program obtain sensitive American technology used millions of dollars in illicit proceeds from the scheme to fund the construction of his Newport Beach mansion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Jamshid Ghomi, 63, an Iranian-American businessman who lives in Newport Coast, California, was charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions laws by supplying export-restricted American networking, security and encryption equipment to customers in Iran, including entities tied to the country's military and nuclear enrichment programs. "As alleged, Ghomi enriched himself by supplying U.S. technology to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and other sanctioned entities responsible for Iran’s nuclear program," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement. The arrest comes amid a broader federal crackdown on Iranian procurement networks and intelligence operations. In recent years, federal authorities have charged multiple Iranian nationals and operatives accused of obtaining U.S. technology for military purposes and acting on behalf of the Iranian government. US SANCTIONS MONEY LAUNDERING NETWORK AIDING IRAN AS REGIME FACES NUCLEAR REPRIMAND AT IAEA Ghomi is the founder and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), a Tehran-based technology company that, according to court documents, spent more than a decade acquiring sophisticated U.S. equipment and funneling it to Iranian government entities through intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates . Investigators say the alleged sanctions-evasion scheme generated millions of dollars for Ghomi, who then took steps to disguise the money's origin before moving it into the United States . He laundered proceeds from his Iran-based business through a network of offshore companies and exchange houses located in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey and the UAE, according to the complaint. Prosecutors cont…