What the FBI says happened
Federal agents arrested 63-year-old Jamshid Ghomi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and CEO of a Tehran-based tech firm, after prosecutors accused him of helping supply U.S. technology and equipment to Iran’s nuclear and military programs. The Justice Department says he faces conspiracy charges under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and up to 20 years in prison. In other words, the federal paperwork finally caught up with a man who allegedly treated sanctions like a suggestion. Prosecutors also moved to seize the Newport Coast mansion and other assets they say were bought with illegal proceeds.
A lot of hardware and a lot of hiding
According to the DOJ, Ghomi used eBay, PayPal, and direct purchases from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska to buy controlled U.S.-origin items, then sent them through front companies in the United Arab Emirates and into Iran without the required OFAC licenses. From 2014 to 2018, investigators say more than 250 metric tons of networking equipment were smuggled into Iran, with U.S.-origin goods hidden inside larger shipments and Ghomi’s name kept off the paperwork. Internal messages allegedly showed him and his associates calling Iran the “Motherland,” which is a nice way to say the business plan was not exactly subtle.
The tax returns told a different story
The money trail did not stop at export controls. Prosecutors say Ghomi moved more than $15 million from his Iran-linked business into U.S. bank accounts and a construction escrow account used to build his mansion, then falsely told the IRS it was a foreign inheritance. His tax returns allegedly showed a highest yearly income of just $20,684, while he claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit in seven tax years and took more than $1.7 million in mortgage interest deductions along with $1.25 million in state and local property taxes. That is quite a feat for a man whose actual financial life appears to have had more zip codes than his tax filing.
Newport Coast was not cheap
Ghomi bought the vacant lot in 2010 for $4.49 million and spent another $10.49 million building the mansion, according to the report. More than $7 million in foreign wires, many tied to the same trading companies and exchange houses linked to the Iran operation, reportedly flowed into the escrow account between 2011 and 2015. Prosecutors say he also used front companies in the UAE, hid invoices, and instructed co-conspirators to keep his name off shipping records. The case is a tidy reminder that sanctions, like taxes, work best when someone is actually watching the forms.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
Leave a Comment