Oahu man pleads guilty to transferring more than $150,000 to Iran without U.S. authorization
Arash Einolghozati, a 37-year-old resident of Waialua on Oahu, pleaded guilty in federal court in Hawaii on July 13 to transferring more than $150,000 from the United States to recipients in Iran without required authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department.
The guilty plea concerns U.S. sanctions enforcement involving Iran. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii, Einolghozati admitted that he made transfers of government-issued currency and cryptocurrency without a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2026. The case places a Hawaii resident within a federal enforcement action tied to U.S. restrictions on financial transfers involving Iran.
Transfers spanned roughly five years
Federal prosecutors said the conduct began as early as March 2017 and continued until at least April 2022. The transfers were made to people Einolghozati knew were in Iran, or to people who would send the money onward to Iran, according to the plea agreement described by the Justice Department.
The agreement states that the total transferred exceeded $150,000. The transfers included both government-issued currency and cryptocurrency.
The Justice Department said Einolghozati knew an OFAC license was required for the transfers but proceeded without one. OFAC is the Treasury office identified by prosecutors as the agency responsible for the authorization at issue in the case.
Aloha State Daily also reported the guilty plea involving the Waialua defendant and Iran sanctions, providing local reporting on the Hawaii federal case.
What the plea resolves — and what remains unknown
A guilty plea is an admission resolving the charge in this case. It is not a trial verdict based on litigation of every possible allegation. The Justice Department’s announcement describes the conduct covered by the plea agreement, including the period of the transfers, their methods and their stated destination.
The public announcement does not identify the recipients of the money or cryptocurrency. It also does not explain the ultimate use of the funds after they reached Iran or were transferred onward there.
Nothing in the released information establishes that the funds went to Iran’s government, military or any designated terrorist organization. The case concerns transfers made without the required U.S. authorization, rather than cryptocurrency itself being unlawful.
Sentencing is the next court step
Einolghozati faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million and up to three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Those figures describe the maximum potential penalties cited by prosecutors, not a sentence imposed by the court.
The sentencing hearing on Oct. 29 will be the next known step in the federal case. Until then, the guilty plea stands as the resolution of the charge announced by federal authorities.
The prosecution involves the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii and follows an investigation identified by the Justice Department as involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The matter illustrates how federal sanctions rules governing international financial activity can be enforced against a resident of Hawaii when transfers are alleged to have been made from the United States to Iran.
Sources
- Oahu Man Pleads Guilty to Transferring Money to Iran in Violation of U.S. Sanctions, U.S. Department of Justice, District of Hawaii
- Waialua man pleads guilty to violating Iran sanctions, Aloha State Daily