Three engineers charged with allegedly stealing Google trade secrets and sending them to Iran
FILE-A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, on March 23, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Three engineers were arrested and charged with stealing trade secrets from Google and other U.S. technology organizations and sending the confidential data to unauthorized locations, including Iran.
Samaneh Ghandali, 41, Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, also known as Mohammad Khosravi, 40, all of San Jose, California, were arrested on Feb. 19, and are scheduled to appear in court Friday.
According to the Department of Justice, a grand jury indicted the trio on charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice.
An indictment unsealed Thursday reveals that Samaneh Ghandali, Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Khosravi obtained confidential and sensitive documents, including trade secrets related to processor security and cryptography and other technologies, from Google and other technology firms to unauthorized third-party and personal locations, including to work devices associated with each other’s employers, and to Iran.
What happened in the Google trade secrets case?
The backstory:
The indictment noted that while working at Google, Samaneh Ghandali transferred hundreds of files, including Google trade secrets, to a third-party communications platform, specifically to channels bearing each of the defendants’ first names.
It was also determined that Soroor Ghandali allegedly transferred numerous Google files, including trade secrets, to these channels while working at Google. The Department of Justice noted that the Google trade secrets were copied to various personal devices and Khosravi’s Company 2 work device, and Soroor Ghandali’s Company 3 work device.
According to the indictment, the three engineers allegedly concealed their actions by providing false, signed affidavits to technology organizations about the conduct and the stolen trade secrets; destroying files and other records from electronic devices; and hiding the methods of removing the confidential files and data to avoid detection by the tech firms.
A Google spokesperson told FOX Business that the tech company found out about the alleged theft through routine security monitoring and referred the case to authorities after performing its own internal investigation.
The DOJ noted that if convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a Department of Justice news release. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.