These 3 Engineers Stole Google’s Chip Trade Secrets and Sent to Iran

For Silicon Valley, the episode is a reminder of the fragility of intellectual property in an industry built on collaboration and mobility. Engineers frequently move between companies, carrying expertise that is legal and expected. What is not permitted, prosecutors say, is the transfer of proprietary files that give firms a competitive edge in a market where a marginal gain in processing power or energy efficiency can translate into billions of dollars

In the heart of Silicon Valley, where the world’s most valuable ideas are distilled into lines of code and slivers of silicon, federal prosecutors say three engineers quietly siphoned off some of the industry’s most closely guarded secrets and sent them to Iran.

A federal grand jury has indicted the three on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google and other technology companies and transferring sensitive semiconductor data overseas, the authorities said on Thursday. The case, unfolding against a backdrop of intensifying tensions between Washington and Tehran, underscores how the global contest over advanced chips increasingly plays out not only in export controls and corporate boardrooms but also in individual workstations.

The defendants, identified as Samaneh Ghandali, 41, her sister Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, all residents of San Jose, were arrested on Thursday and appeared in federal district court the same day.

According to the indictment, the three are Iranian nationals. Soroor Ghandali was in the United States on a nonimmigrant student visa. Samaneh Ghandali later became a U.S. citizen, and Mr. Khosravi, her husband, became a lawful permanent resident. Prosecutors said Mr. Khosravi previously served in the Iranian army.

The trio faces charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California.

Prosecutors allege that the defendants exploited their positions at leading technology firms that develop mobile computer processors to obtain hundreds of confidential files, including materials related to processor security and cryptography.

Samaneh and Soroor Ghandali previously worked at Google before joining a third company identified in court documents only as Company 3. Mr. Khosravi worked at a separate firm referred to as Company 2, which develops system on chip platforms such as the Snapdragon series for smartphones and other mobile devices.

A system on chip, or SoC, is a semiconductor that integrates numerous components, including graphics processing units and memory, into a single power efficient package. Common examples include the Snapdragon line produced by Qualcomm, which powers many high end Android phones, and the A series chips designed by Apple for its iPhones.

In a statement, Google said it detected the alleged theft through routine security monitoring before referring the case to law enforcement.

“We have enhanced safeguards to protect our confidential information and immediately alerted law enforcement after discovering this incident,” José Castañeda, a company spokesman, said.

The company also pointed to measures it uses to protect trade secrets, including limiting employee access to sensitive material, requiring two factor authentication for work related accounts and logging file transfers to third party platforms such as Telegram.

Authorities say the defendants routed stolen files through a third party communications platform to channels bearing each of their first names before copying the material to personal devices, to one another’s work devices and to recipients in Iran.

“The method in which confidential data was transferred by the defendants involved deliberate steps to evade detection and conceal their identities,” said Sanjay Virmani, special agent in charge of the F.B.I. investigation.

According to prosecutors, the defendants attempted to cover their tracks after Google’s internal security systems flagged Samaneh Ghandali’s activity and revoked her access to company resources in August 2023.

Court documents say she signed an affidavit falsely claiming that she had not shared Google’s confidential information outside the company. During that period, a personal laptop linked to Ms. Ghandali and Mr. Khosravi was used to search for methods to delete communications and to research how long mobile carriers retain message records.

Investigators also allege that the couple photographed hundreds of computer screens containing confidential information from Google and Company 2, an apparent effort to circumvent digital monitoring tools.

On the night before the pair traveled to Iran in December 2023, prosecutors say Ms. Ghandali took about 24 photographs of Mr. Khosravi’s work computer screen displaying Company 2’s trade secrets, including information related to its Snapdragon SoCs.

While in Iran, prosecutors allege, a device linked to Ms. Ghandali accessed those photographs, and Mr. Khosravi accessed additional proprietary information from Company 2, including details about Snapdragon SoC hardware architecture.

The indictment states that the Snapdragon SoC trade secrets had independent economic value because they were not generally known and could not be readily obtained by competitors, who could benefit from their disclosure or use.

If convicted, each defendant faces 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 count.

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