Samim Anghaie, 61, previously taught nuclear engineering at the University of Florida. His wife Sousan, 56, is the president of a high-tech engineering research and development firm.
On February 25, following a three-week trial, a federal jury in Gainesville announced guilty verdicts for both. Each was convicted of conspiracy, and a total of 54 counts of wire fraud.
According to The Gaines-ville Sun, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on a dozen other counts involving money laundering for both Samim and Sousan and one charge of making false statements for Sousan. Samim, however, was also found guilty of using false documents. Sousan was found not guilty of that charge.
A sentencing date has not yet been sent, but the pair could theoretically face more than 500 years in prison as each fraud count has a maximum penalty of 20 years. However, such a sentence would be very unlikely for this type of case. The two are currently free on bond while they await sentencing.
In February 2009, officials from the FBI raided the office of Samim, who at the time was a professor of radiological engineering at the University of Florida. Officials suspected that Samim—the founder of the school’s Innovative Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute—and his wife had defrauded the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
In an affidavit filed in 2006, federal investigators said the government had awarded 13 contracts since 1999 to the couple’s company, New Era Technology Inc. (NETECH), whose president is Sousan. The contracts awarded $3.4 million to the company; the funds were deposited into NETECH’s corporate account. But it was later found that the couple had diverted much of the money into personal accounts, with which they bought cars and property.
The company’s website said it was established in 1988 as a research and development firm to perform “high-tech, cutting edge research,” listing NASA, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy among the agencies for whom it worked.
The couple has two sons; Hamid and Ali, both in their early 30s. Hamid was the company’s director and vice president; Ali works in Connecticut for Pratt & Whitney, which was listed as one of the businesses awarding contracts to NETECH.
