Candidates for a 25th Judicial District judge vacancy will be interviewed on Sept. 8 at the Finney County Courthouse. Gavel
San Diego, California – A former Qualcomm executive has been convicted of fraud and money laundering after orchestrating a complex $180 million scheme that involved secretly profiting from the sale of company-owned technology, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced Tuesday.
Dr. Karim Arabi, 58, who once served as a vice president in Qualcomm’s Research and Development Department, was found guilty of defrauding his employer by covertly developing microchip technology and funneling it back to Qualcomm through a shell company he secretly controlled.
According to prosecutors, Arabi created a startup called Abreezio to market microchip innovations that he developed while employed at Qualcomm—intellectual property that, under his employment agreement, legally belonged to the tech giant.
To conceal his involvement, Arabi assumed the role of shadow CEO, overseeing Abreezio’s operations, selecting its name, and managing communications using fake email accounts. He went a step further by impersonating his own sister, Sheida Alan, presenting her as the founder and primary inventor of the company, despite her having no involvement in the company’s activities.
In a calculated move to further obscure their relationship, Sheida legally changed her last name from “Arabi” to “Alan” in 2015—shortly before Qualcomm agreed to acquire Abreezio.
The fraudulent arrangement ultimately led Qualcomm to purchase Abreezio for $150 million, with nearly $92 million transferred directly to Arabi’s sister, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Dr. Arabi abused his position of trust and authority at one of San Diego’s most prominent tech companies,” the office stated. “This was a deliberate and sophisticated fraud designed to enrich himself at the expense of his employer and its shareholders.”
Authorities also confirmed that Arabi laundered the stolen proceeds through a network of shell companies and international real estate investments, attempting to conceal the origin of the funds.
Two of Arabi’s associates, Ali Akbar Shokouhi and Sanjiv Taneja, have already pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme and are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Arabi’s sentencing date has not yet been announced.
