OAKLAND, CA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Farhad Nafeiy, 70, of Alamo, California, pleaded guilty to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and to tax evasion. The plea was accepted by United States District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.
Nafeiy was charged under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which enables the U.S. President to address national security, foreign policy, or economic threats. Under this act, specific sanctions have been imposed against Iran, prohibiting the export of U.S. products and services to the country. Although Nafeiy obtained licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to advise non-Iranian companies on doing business with Iran, these licenses did not authorize the direct provision of hardware or software to Iran. Nafeiy admitted to bypassing these restrictions by supplying software upgrades to telecommunications equipment in Iran. In his plea agreement, he stated that these sales amounted to approximately $400,000. Nafeiy also admitted to tax evasion, specifically failing to pay income tax on some of these proceeds.
On August 10, Nafeiy was charged with one count of violating IEEPA and one count of tax evasion. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and potential restitution for the IEEPA violation. For the tax evasion charge, the maximum sentence is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and at least $79,124 in restitution to the IRS.