Affiliation: IRGC
Mohammad Bayati, Said Pourkarim Arabi, and Mohammad Reza Espargham are wanted for their alleged involvement in criminal activities including computer intrusions, identity theft, and wire fraud. These Iranian hackers allegedly conspired to commit computer intrusions targeting American companies in the aerospace and satellite industries. They allegedly engaged in a coordinated campaign of social engineering that resulted in the theft of United States citizens’ identities, which they then used to steal critical information related to American aerospace and satellite technology and resources, including sensitive commercial information, intellectual property, and personal data. The men allegedly conducted this activity at the direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). On September 15, 2020, a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia, indicted Bayati on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Computer Intrusions and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, and a federal arrest warrant was issued.