Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Startup Founders Arrested For Defrauding Qualcommm

Four people, including two San Diego residents, have been arrested and charged with $150M in fraud, related to the acquisition of a startup by San Diego-based Qualcomm, according to the Department of Justice. According to the DOJ, Karim Arabi ("Karim") and Ali Akbar Shokouhi have been arrested in San Diego, and Sanjiv Taneja was arrested in the Northern District of California, with a fourth defendant arrested in Canada, where she faces proceedings to extradite her to the United States. According to the DOJ, the four are accused of selling a startup, Abreezio, to Qualcomm, for $150M, saying they had developed the technology at the company, when--according to the charges--the technology had actually been developed at Qualcomm itself. According to the DOJ, Karim secretly created and provisionally patented the technology ultimately sold back to Qualcomm while serving as a vice president of research and development at Qualcomm. If convicted the four face maximum statutory penalties of 20 years in prison; fines of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain/loss for the fraud charges or $500,000 for the money laundering charges; and forfeiture of all property derived from proceeds of the alleged fraud.