WASHINGTON D.C. – Abouzar Rahmati, 43, of Great Falls, Virginia, is headed to federal prison after admitting to a long-running scheme to funnel sensitive information to the Iranian government. Rahmati, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former contractor with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), was sentenced today to 12 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. The sentencing follows a guilty plea entered on April 16, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan.
The Justice Department, through U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, revealed a chilling operation stretching back to at least December 2017. Rahmati wasn’t a rogue actor; he actively offered his services to Iranian officials, reaching out through a former university acquaintance now embedded within Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Four months later, he was in Tehran, cementing an agreement to gather intelligence on both the U.S. solar energy industry and, crucially, the nation’s aviation sector. He established a cover story – fabricated academic research – to mask his true activities.
Court documents detail a calculated effort to exploit Rahmati’s FAA access. He downloaded a staggering 172 gigabytes of company files, transferring them to removable media. This wasn’t idle curiosity. He transported those files to Iran in April 2022, directly handing over sensitive documents to Iranian government officials. The explicit request from Iranian intelligence officers? “Information, including new ideas and technology not available in Iran.” Pirro’s office emphasized that Rahmati’s actions were a betrayal of trust, violating both his status as a U.S. citizen and a federal contractor.
“By secretly doing the bidding of the Iranian government, Mr. Rahmati violated the trust placed in him,” Pirro stated bluntly. “Ensuring that sensitive U.S. information does not fall into the hands of hostile foreign intelligence services remains one of our highest priorities.” The investigation, a joint effort with the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, underscores the constant threat posed by foreign actors seeking to undermine U.S. critical infrastructure. Special Agent in Charge Daniel Wierzbicki highlighted Rahmati’s exploitation of a “trusted position” to share vital aviation data with a hostile power.
Rahmati’s initial contact with Iranian intelligence stemmed from a connection forged during his university days. He wasn’t some naive recruit; he proactively sought out a relationship with Iranian government operatives. He then systematically used his employment to fulfill their requests, providing both open-source and non-public materials. The scope of the leaked information, while still being fully assessed, is believed to be significant, potentially compromising the security of the U.S. aviation system.
The sentencing of Rahmati sends a clear message: those who attempt to act as agents of foreign governments within the United States will be held accountable. Wierzbicki affirmed the FBI’s “commitment to disrupt threats to U.S. critical infrastructure,” particularly those originating from Iran. This case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing espionage efforts targeting American interests and the dedication of federal agencies to counter them. Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the Justice Department’s National Security Division also participated in the announcement.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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