American engineers are accused of stealing Google technology for the Iranian government

The theft of Google trade secrets led to criminal charges in the United States

A federal grand jury in the United States indicted three Silicon Valley engineers for transferring confidential information from Google and other technology companies to Iran.

Defendant Number of Charges Status Nationality Samaneh Ghandali 18 U.S.C. § 371, § 372, § 1503 Convicted American citizenship Soroor Ghandali 18 U.S.C. § 371, § 372, § 1503 Suspect Iranian Mohammadjavad Khosravi 18 U.S.C. § 371, § 372, § 1503 Suspect Permanent resident of the United States

Brief chronology
1. Arrest – Thursday in San Jose (California).
2. Court proceeding – same day before a federal district court.

Charges and potential penalties
- Conspiracy to commit trade‑secret theft – up to 10 years imprisonment for each count.
- Theft or attempt to steal trade secrets – also up to 10 years for each charge.
- Obstruction of justice – up to 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 for each act.

Companies involved
Engineer Previous job Current activity Samaneh, Soroor Google Moved to another tech firm Khosravi Company developing system‑on‑chip solutions (Snapdragon and others) Working on mobile processors

Google announced the alleged leak during routine security monitoring. After discovering the incident, the company strengthened protection of confidential data and immediately reported it to law enforcement.

How information was transferred
- Moving files via a third‑party communication platform with subscription channels named after the suspects.
- Downloading content onto each other’s personal devices and workstations, then subsequently sending it to Iran.
- To bypass digital monitoring, screenshots of computers containing confidential information were used.

Before traveling to Iran (December 2023), Samaneh allegedly photographed about 24 screens of Khosravi’s workstation that contained trade secrets, including details of Snapdragon processors.

> “The method of transferring confidential data involved deliberate steps to evade detection and conceal their identities,” noted FBI special agent Sanjay Virmani.

Thus, three Silicon Valley engineers are under federal court pressure for transferring Google trade secrets to Iran. If the charges are upheld, each could face up to 10 years in prison for theft and up to 20 years for obstruction of justice, along with substantial fines.