A former Vice President of Qualcomm was convicted of a federal jury in San Diego on Tuesday for electronic fraud and money laundering in relation to a scheme worth $ 180 million, said the office of the United States prosecutor.
Karim Arabi, former vice president of the Department of Investigation and Development, was convicted of the monitoring trial of the week and “less than two” days of deliberation, authorities said in a statement.
The collection of the votes of a scheme in which Arabi and others get a start company whose technology already had by agreement with Arabi.
“The advantage of the defendant of the trust that was put in him, covering his pockets with millions orchestrating a scheme to deceive and then bleed to his own employer,” said US prosecutor Andrew in a statement.
According to prosecutors, any intellectual property developed by Arabi while on the payroll of Qualcomm belonged to the San Diego technological giant.
At some point in its employment with Qualcomm, in the mid -2010, Arabi developed a new method to evaluate micro processors.
Arabi, hiding their participation with false names and email accounts, commercialized the development of Qualcomm under the appearance of a starting company.
Qualcomm bought the company for $ 180 million in 2015 with an initial payment of $ 150 million.
“Dr. Arabi created false email accounts and sent false emails to boost his sister, Sheida Alan, the alleged inventor of the new technology,” said the United States prosecutor’s office in a statement.
Alan legally changed his surname from Arabi to “hide his relationship with Dr. Arabi further,” authorities said.
Alan was paid almost $ 92 million by virtue of the agreement, according to the evidence presented at the trial, authorities said.
After the sale, Arabi and the conspirators allegedly used purchases of foreign real estate to wash the funds.
Arabi, along with Alan, Ali Akbar Shokouhi, who also had a vice president in Qualcomm, and Sanjiv Taneja, who served as CEO of “startup”, were accused in 2022.
Taneja and Shokouhi declared themselves guilty of money laundering before Arabi’s trial and will be scheduled to be sentenced this summer.
Alan is pending extradition to the United States from Canada, according to the statements of prosecutors made in the Court.
Arabi faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the three positions of which he was sentenced and fines of up to $ 1 million.
Prosecutors said in the Court that they hope to look for $ 89.5 million in restitution.
It must be sentenced on June 27.
