An Iranian woman who became a lawful U.S. permanent resident during the Obama administration was arrested over the weekend on allegations she helped broker multimillion-dollar weapons deals for the Iranian government.
Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, California, was arrested Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport as she prepared to board a flight to Turkey, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Mafi is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
She was expected to make an initial court appearance Monday but was not expected to enter a plea, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
"This individual came from Iran and gained legal status under the Obama administration," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the release.
"While enjoying a life in the United States, this woman was allegedly breaking the law by brokering lethal weapons deals with Iranian adversaries.
"This will not stand, and anyone who breaks our laws and threatens national security will be prosecuted to the fullest extent," Blanche said.
According to a criminal complaint, Mafi brokered a contract worth more than 60 million euros (about $65 million) for the sale of Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drones from Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics to Sudan, which has been locked in a civil war since April 2023.
She also received more than 6 million euros to coordinate travel for a Sudanese delegation involved in the deal.
Prosecutors allege Mafi used an Oman-based front company to facilitate the transactions and arranged payments through currency exchanges in countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to evade U.S. sanctions.
The complaint further alleges that Mafi brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to Sudan and submitted a letter of intent to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to procure them.
She also allegedly arranged deals involving tens of millions of rounds of ammunition, including contracts for up to 240 million rounds, as well as discussions involving assault weapons and other military equipment.
Authorities say Mafi did not obtain required licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the State Department to engage in the transactions.
Investigators also said Mafi had contact with an officer tied to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security and acknowledged during interviews that she was "more useful" to Iranian officials outside the United States, according to the complaint.
Mafi was born in Iran in 1981 and lived there until 2013 before relocating to Istanbul, according to the complaint.
She became a lawful permanent U.S. resident in October 2016.
"The Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute violations of U.S. sanctions that target foreign adversaries such as the government of Iran," said Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
"This defendant took advantage of our open immigration system to live freely in Los Angeles while simultaneously working to traffic arms on behalf of a country that seeks to destroy us.
"Not on our watch. We look forward to securing a long prison sentence for her blatant criminal conduct," Essayli said.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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