Former Qualcomm Vice President Found Guilty of Involvement in 0 Million Fraud Scheme.

A federal jury in San Diego found former Qualcomm Vice President Karim Arabi guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a significant 0 million fraudulent scheme. The conviction, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, follows a four-week trial that culminated in just under two days of jury deliberation.

Arabi, who led the Research and Development Department at Qualcomm, was implicated in a scheme that involved deceiving his employer into acquiring a startup company whose technology Qualcomm had already developed internally, as stipulated by Arabi’s employment obligations. The alleged fraud was facilitated through deceptive practices that exploited Arabi’s position and the trust placed in him by the company.

In a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden characterized Arabi’s actions as a betrayal of trust. He highlighted the scale of the deception, stating that Arabi orchestrated a plan that resulted in his personal financial gain at the expense of Qualcomm.

Evidence presented during the trial indicated that any intellectual property created by Arabi while employed by Qualcomm legally belonged to the company. In the mid-2010s, Arabi developed a new evaluation method for micro-processors, which he later packaged and marketed under the guise of a separate startup. This led to Qualcomm’s acquisition of the company in 2015 for 0 million, with a substantial initial payment of 0 million.

Prosecutors revealed that Arabi went to great lengths to obscure his involvement in the scheme. He created fictitious email accounts to impersonate his sister, Sheida Alan, who was presented as the inventor of the purported new technology. It was later discovered that Alan legally altered her last name to further distance herself from Arabi in connection to the case. The trial established that Alan received nearly million as part of the fraudulent arrangement.

Following the acquisition, Arabi and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered the proceeds through foreign real estate transactions. In addition to Arabi, several others involved in the scheme were indicted, including Alan, Ali Akbar Shokouhi, who previously served as Qualcomm’s vice president, and Sanjiv Taneja, designated as the startup’s CEO. Both Taneja and Shokouhi have pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering prior to Arabi’s trial and are awaiting sentencing. Alan, however, is continuing to contest the charges against her.

As a result of the convictions, Arabi is facing a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison—20 years for each of the three counts for which he was convicted—and could incur fines of up to million. This case underscores the serious legal consequences that can arise from corporate fraud and the importance of transparency in the tech industry.

This focus on fraudulent practices within established companies reflects broader concerns about accountability and ethical conduct among executives in high-stakes environments. As the case progresses, it may serve as a cautionary tale for others in the corporate sector.

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