Two former Google engineers, along with one of their husbands, were charged on February 19 for allegedly conspiring to steal trade secrets related to the company’s Tensor processor, which is primarily used in the Google Pixel series of smartphones. The defendants, who are immigrants from Iran, could face up to 150 years in prison if convicted on the 14 counts against them.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, the three defendants are 41-year-old Samaneh Ghandali, her 40-year-old husband Mohammadjavad Khosravi, and 32-year-old Soroor Ghandali.
The trio appeared in court for the first time last week in San Jose, California.
If found guilty, each defendant could face up to 130 years in prison for 13 counts of conspiracy to steal trade secrets and attempted theft of trade secrets, as well as an additional 20-year sentence for obstruction of justice. Furthermore, each criminal charge the defendants face could result in a fine of $250,000.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants, during their employment at Google and other top tech companies in the CPU department for mobile phones and computers, secretly copied relevant documents and trade secrets. These departments are primarily responsible for developing microprocessors used in laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
Sanjay Virmani, the FBI’s special agent in charge in San Francisco, stated in a release, “The conduct alleged in the indictment reflects a deliberate betrayal of the trust of the employing company by the defendants.”
He added that according to the charges, the defendants’ methods of transferring confidential data included consciously evading detection and concealing their identities through meticulous steps.
Samaneh and Soroor are sisters and Iranian citizens who attended university in Iran before moving to the United States. Samaneh earned a master’s degree in information engineering in Iran and later became a U.S. citizen in 2018. In 2019, she received a PhD in information engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Court documents show that Soroor obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science at a university in Iran before coming to the U.S. on a non-immigrant student visa. Since 2020, she has been pursuing a graduate program in information engineering at Santa Clara University.
Khosravi, an Iranian citizen and former lieutenant in the Iranian military, obtained a degree in information engineering in Iran. He gained lawful permanent residency in the U.S. around 2019 and pursued a doctorate in the same field at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which he completed in 2021.
According to legal filings, Soroor started as an intern at Google in 2019 and later recommended her sister and brother-in-law for positions at the company.
Khosravi submitted over 40 resumes to Google, applying for various positions, including processor design engineer, but was not hired.
In 2022, Soroor returned to Google as an intern, but was not retained after the internship.
Her LinkedIn profile indicates that she then moved to Intel for employment. Prosecutors allege that before leaving Google, she downloaded internal documents to a USB drive, detected by Google’s internal security systems.
Reportedly, she admitted to the actions and signed an affidavit declaring the permanent deletion and destruction of the documents, claiming not to have shared them with anyone.
The indictment states that during her time at Google, Samaneh allegedly transferred hundreds of files, including Google trade secrets, to a third-party communication platform.
Prosecutors further allege that these trade secrets were subsequently copied onto multiple personal devices, Khosravi’s official equipment, and Soroor’s official device.
According to prosecutors, the defendants are accused of concealing their actions by submitting false sworn statements to their employers, deleting transferred files and records from electronic devices, and hiding their transfer methods to evade detection by tech companies.
Prosecutors state that after Google’s internal security system detected Samaneh’s suspicious activities in August 2023, her access to company resources was revoked. She signed an affidavit stating that she had not shared Google’s confidential information with anyone outside the company.
However, prosecutors allege that Samaneh later searched for and viewed websites related to “deleting communications and data,” including information on how long telecom companies retain “written information for court use.”
The couple reportedly continued to access and store Google trade secrets on personal devices and began manually taking photos of Google computer screens, totaling hundreds of images over the following months.
Authorities claim that the night before Samaneh and Khosravi departed for Iran in December 2023, Samaneh allegedly took around 24 photos with her phone of commercial secrets displayed on Khosravi’s official computer screen.
While in Iran, Samaneh used personal devices to access these photos, and Khosravi accessed his company’s trade secrets.
Agent Virmani stated, “Protecting Silicon Valley’s innovation and defending the breakthrough technologies that drive our country’s economy and national security is a top priority for the FBI.”
Federal prosecutor Craig H. Missakian in San Francisco stated, “As alleged, the defendants exploited their positions to steal their employers’ trade secrets. Our office will continue to stand at the forefront of protecting American innovation and will actively prosecute those who steal sensitive advanced technology for improper gain or on behalf of hostile nations.”
It is unclear at this time whether the defendants have retained legal counsel, and attempts to reach the defendants for comment have been unsuccessful.