A naturalized American citizen who lived in Great Falls, Virginia, declared himself guilty on Wednesday with the Iranian government and intelligence officials in his Bealf in the United States, a contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) between 2017 and 2024.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Abouzar Rahmati, 42, declared himself guilty in a federal court to conspire to act and act as an agent of the Iranian government in the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General.
Rahmati was previously a body of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) 1st Lieutenant, a branch of the Iranian armed forces, from June 2009 to May 2010.
The IRGC is a terrorist group designated by the United States government.
Judicial documents show that from at least December 2017 to June 2024, Rahmati worked with Iranian intelligence agents and government officials on their being in the United States.
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The Department of Justice said that Rahmati offered his services to Iran in August 2017 through a former colleague who was a senior Iranian government official who previously worked at the country’s intelligence and security ministry.
Rahmati traveled to Iran four months later and with intelligence agents and government officials, said the Department of Justice.
Hey, also to gather and provide Iranian officials information about the solar industry in the United States.
When he returned to the USA at the beginning of 2018, Rahmati obeyed private and open source materials related to the sun industry of the United States, then demonstrated Sum to the Office of the Vice President of Science and Technology of Iran.
While working as a FAA contractor in the USA. UU., Rahmati downloaded at least 175 GB of files, including FAA documents controlled by confidential access related to the National Aerospace System (NAS), NAS airport surveillance radar systems and radio radiofrequency data, said the DOJ.
Rahmati stored the archives in the removable media, which I made Iran in April 2022 and provided government officials, according to the Department of Justice.
He also provided additional information about solar energy, solar panels, FAA, US airports and American air traffic control towers to his brother who lives in Iran in April 2022, added the Department of Justice, so his brother could provide the files on Rahmati.
Rahmati is expected to be sentenced on August 26, and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government, and up to five years in prison for conspiracy.