ExclusiveFBI: California CEO Supplied Iran's Nuclear Program While Claiming Low-Income Tax Credits

A man told the IRS he made $20,000 last year. He also lives in a $35 million mansion on the California coast. Ocean breeze, custom built, the whole dream. Now, for that math to add up, either the tax forms are lying or he is. Welcome back to the show. His name is Jamshid Gomi, 63 years old, Newport Coast, California, a US citizen. He's also the CEO of a tech company headquartered in Tehran. And this week, the FBI arrested him for allegedly spending the last decade quietly running American technology straight into the hands of Iran's nuclear program. Quick civics moment. The US has sanctions on Iran, duh. I mean, sanctions are like a velvet rope. Iran doesn't get in. Iran doesn't get American computer gear, no networking equipment, no encryption tech. And why? Because that stuff runs militaries and centrifuges. Prosecutors say Gomi moved over 250 metric tons of equipment into Iran. 250 tons. That's not a side hustle. That's about 40 semi-trucks fully loaded, rolling out of California, headed for Tehran. His Tehran-based company, FPR, reportedly did over $10 million a year in sales. And customers? Hundreds of uranium companies, many under US sanctions. Including, and this is from the federal complaints, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the agency in charge of the uranium, the centrifuges. He also supplied Iran's Ministry of Defense. Just your average American small business owner helping out the regime that chained some death to America. Five-star review on Yelp guaranteed. It probably says fastest sanctions violator on the coast. And he even hid the parts for us. Review from Tehran. So how did one man allegedly move 40 semi-trucks worth of American tech into Iran for over a decade without anyone noticing? Pretty easy, actually. If you're patient. Here's how the play allegedly worked. Step one. Go shopping in America. Prosecutors say Gomi personally negotiated deals with computer hardware suppliers in places like Minnesota and Nebraska. Minnesota and Nebraska. Iran's two biggest fans. For some of the smaller orders, though, prosecutors say he didn't even bother with paperwork. He allegedly used his own eBay account. His own PayPal account. Hundreds of purchases between 2011 and 2023. The world's most ambitious sanctions violator apparently checking out as a guest user. You know, I just want to know if he left good reviews for those eBay sellers. And step two. Don't ship to Iran. And, duh, that would be insane. Ship to Dubai. Prosecutors say Gomi set up a network of front companies in the UAE with freight forwarders in Dubai. His job was to receive American equipment, repackaging them, and quietly send it on to Tehran. And step three. Hide the paper trail. Prosecutors say Gomi specifically directed his Dubai partners to do three things. Do not put his name on shipping documents. Do not include the invoices in the boxes. And, when in doubt, hide the American parts inside the bigger shipments so customs wouldn't bother opening them up. That's not exporting, guys. That's smuggling with extra steps. Okay, now follow the cash. Because this is where it gets artistic. Prosecutors say Gomi moved over $15 million in Iranian revenue into U.S. bank accounts. But here's the problem. You can't just wire money from Tehran to California and then call it a Friday. The U.S. banking system would catch it instantly, right? So, how do you hide it? You take it on a world tour. Prosecutors say the money allegedly bounced through shell companies in four offshore jurisdictions. Of course, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE. So, like a money laundering Eurotrip. And when the money finally landed in California, it was wearing a costume. The wires said things like buying goods, consulting fees. How about on his tax return? He allegedly called it a foreign inheritance. So, apparently the same uncle died seven separate times. But here's where the rubber meets the cliffside. In 2010, he allegedly bought a vacant lot in Newport Coast, $4.49 million. For dirt. Then between 2010 and 2013, he allegedly spent another $10.49 million building a 14,000-square-foot Italianate mansion, custom-built Pacific View. The whole thing now worth $35 million. And the construction money? The prosecutors allegedly traced over $7 million in foreign wires flowing directly into the escrow account that paid for the build. Same shell companies. Same fake labels. So, here's the picture. A man tells the IRS he's broke. His best year on record? $20,684. Less than what a Starbucks barista makes. Meanwhile, marble countertops are being lifted onto a cliffside mansion paid for by foreign wires that the wire receipts say are consulting. And not only did he allegedly claim he was poor, he applied for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Seven different years. That's the credit designed for working-poor families, like single moms, gig workers, people actually struggling. So, while a waitress in Ohio is filling out the same form to claim $3,000 in tax relief, this guy was filling it out between yacht maintenance bills. If true, he definitely hired a better accountant than the rest of us. Now, according to the complaint, when Gomi and his partners talked privately about where they were shipping the equipment, they had a name for the place. They called it Motherland. And let me say this clearly because it matters. Being Iranian-American is not a crime. Loving where your family came from is beautiful. Millions of immigrants build incredible lives here, follow the rules, and make the country stronger. This isn't about heritage. It's about choice. The issue isn't that he called Iran Motherland. The issue is what he was allegedly doing while he called it that. Because if you're enjoying the protections of America, the banking system of America, the real estate market of America, the passport of America, and even tax credits from America, while allegedly helping a hostile regime obtain restricted technology, people are going to have questions. A lot of questions. It's like moving into someone's house, eating their food, using their Wi-Fi, then secretly helping the guy next door who keeps threatening to burn the place down. That just does not make sense. So what's next? He'll get to stay in court. That's how America works. But if these allegations are true, the only thing more impressive than the house is the paperwork. Because apparently in California, you can live in a $35 million oceanfront mansion and still qualify as financially challenged. We'll be watching. See you in the next one.