Three people allegedly stole trade secrets from Google and two other companies and sent them to Iran. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Three Silicon Valley engineers have been indicted on federal charges of stealing trade secrets from Google and two other companies and sending them to Iran.
Samaneh Ghandali, 41, Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, and Soroor Ghandali, 32, all of San Jose, are facing charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice. They were arrested Thursday and are scheduled to appear in court Friday, a Department of Justice press release said.
If convicted, each could serve up to 10 years in prison for each trade secret charge and up to 20 years for obstruction of justice, along with fines of up to $250,000 per charge.
Samaneh and Soroor Ghandali are sisters, and Khosravi is married to Samaneh. Soroor was in the United States on a student visa, Samaneh is a naturalized U.S. citizen and Khosravi is a legal permanent resident, the release said.
The Ghandalis worked at Google before going to work for another tech company identified as Company 3, and Khosravi worked at a tech company identified as Company 2. Company 2 develops system-on-a-chip mobile computer processors, like the Snapdragon.
A SoC is a circuit that consolidates computer components like the CPU, GPU, memory and more onto one chip. They are used on smartphones and other mobile devices.
Google’s internal security systems found Samaneh’s alleged activity, and the company took away her access to company resources in August 2023. She then signed an affidavit saying that she had not shared any confidential information outside the company.
Google told CNBC that it found the theft through routine monitoring and then contacted police.
“We have enhanced safeguards to protect our confidential information and immediately alerted law enforcement after discovering this incident,” spokesperson José Castañeda said in a statement.
After the affidavit, she and Khosravi searched for information on how to delete communications and how long cell phone companies kept “messages to print out for court,” the prosecutors allege. They allegedly continued to access Google’s trade secrets stored on their devices. They began photographing hundreds of computer screens of Google’s and Company 2’s confidential information for months, prosecutors said.
Sahmaneh and Ghandali traveled to Iran in December 2023. The night before they left, Samaneh allegedly shot about 24 photographs of Khosravi’s work computer screen with trade secrets from Company 2. While in Iran, a device linked to Samaneh accessed the photos and Khosravi accessed other trade secret information, prosecutors said.
“As alleged, the defendants exploited their positions to steal confidential trade secrets from their employers. Our office will continue to lead the way in protecting American innovation, and we will vigorously prosecute individuals who steal sensitive advanced technologies for improper gain or to benefit countries that wish us ill,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in a statement.
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