A federal grand jury in San Jose has indicted three engineers on charges of conspiring to commit trade secret theft from Google and other leading technology companies, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice.
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Samaneh Ghandali, 41, Mohammadjavad Khosravi (also known as Mohammad Khosravi), 40, and Soroor Ghandali, 32, all of San Jose, were arrested Feb. 19 and made their initial appearances in federal district court in San Jose.

According to the indictment filed Feb. 18, prosecutors said the defendants gained employment at leading technology companies in the area of mobile computer processors. Samaneh Ghandali and Soroor Ghandali, identified by authorities as  sisters, worked at Google before going on to work for another technology company identified only as Company 3, and Khosravi, who is married to Samaneh Ghandali, worked at a technology company identified only as Company 2.

As part of the alleged scheme to commit trade secret theft, the defendants used their employment to obtain access to confidential and sensitive information.  Prosecutors said the defendants then exfiltrated confidential and sensitive documents, including trade secrets related to processor security and cryptography and other technologies, from Google and other technology companies to unauthorized third-party and personal locations, including to work devices associated with each other’s employers, and to Iran.

“As alleged, the defendants exploited their positions to steal confidential trade secrets from their employers,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian.

“The alleged actions outlined in this indictment reflect a calculated betrayal of trust by individuals accused of stealing trade secrets from the very tech companies that employed them,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “Protecting Silicon Valley innovation and defending the groundbreaking technologies that drive our economy and national security is a top priority for the FBI,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.

The indictment describes that while employed at Google, Samaneh Ghandali transferred hundreds of files, including Google trade secrets, to a third-party communications platform, specifically to channels bearing each of the defendants’ first names.  Soroor Ghandali likewise is alleged to have transferred numerous Google files, including trade secrets, to these channels while employed by Google.  These Google trade secrets were later copied to various personal devices and Khosravi’s Company 2 work device, as well as Soroor Ghandali’s Company 3 work device.

According to the indictment, the defendants hid their actions by submitting false, signed affidavits to victim technology companies about the conduct and the stolen trade secrets; destroying exfiltrated files and other records from electronic devices; and concealing the methods of exfiltration to avoid detection by the victim technology companies (for example, manually photographing screens containing the documents’ contents instead of exfiltrating complete documents using a third-party communications platform).

After Google’s internal security systems detected Samaneh Ghandali’s activity and Google revoked her access to company resources in August 2023, Samaneh Ghandali allegedly executed a signed affidavit claiming she had not shared Google’s confidential information with anyone outside the company.

She and Khosravi then began conducting searches and visiting websites about deleting communications and other data, including how long a cell phone provider kept “messages to print out for court,” prosecutors said.

The couple continued accessing Google trade secrets that were stored on their personal devices and began manually photographing hundreds of computer screens of Google’s and Company 2’s confidential information over the course of months.

On the night before Samaneh Ghandali and Khosravi traveled to Iran in December 2023, Samaneh Ghandali allegedly manually captured with her mobile phone approximately 24 photographs of Khosravi’s work computer screen containing Company 2 trade secret information.  While in Iran, a personal device associated with Samaneh Ghandali accessed these photographs, and Khosravi accessed other Company 2 trade secret information.

The defendants are next scheduled to appear in district court on Feb. 20, 2026, for identification of counsel before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and theft and attempted theft of trade secrets in violation, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of obstruction of official proceeding.