The person at the center of this case
Multiple U.S. and international universities, government agencies, and private companies
Cold Case · Open - Fugitive at Large
8 years waiting · since 2018
ROOZBEH SABAHI
Justice for Multiple U.S. and international universities, government agencies, and private companies — the trail went cold in 2018, but the truth hasn't.
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Key leads to think about
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suspect
Lead #1Why has Sabahi remained in Iran despite the federal warrant, and what diplomatic efforts have been made to secure his extradition?
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evidence
Lead #2What specific proprietary research and data were stolen, and how has the compromise affected U.S. national security and academic institutions?
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person
Lead #3Who were Sabahi's co-conspirators at the Mabna Institute, and have they been apprehended or indicted?
Roozbeh Sabahi, an Iranian contractor for the Mabna Institute, is wanted for orchestrating a massive cyber espionage scheme that compromised over 144 U.S. universities, 176 foreign universities, and numerous government agencies and private companies between 2015 and 2018. Working at the behest of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, Sabahi and his co-conspirators stole proprietary research data and sold it to Iranian entities, causing significant intellectual property losses. Despite a federal indictment issued in February 2018, Sabahi remains at large in Iran, making his apprehension dependent on international cooperation and Iran's willingness to extradite.
Case
#988
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; FBI
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More leads to consider
Beyond the top three above — each detail below could be the thread that pulls this case open.
📞
contact
Lead #4What Iranian government entities and universities directly received the stolen data, and can international sanctions pressure Iran to cooperate?
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Official wording
Source Narrative
Conspiracy to Commit Computer Hacking; Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Computer Fraud - Unauthorized Access for Private Financial Gain; Wire Fraud; Aggravated Identity Theft Caution: Roozbeh Sabahi is wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal activities, including obtaining unauthorized access to computer systems, stealing proprietary data from those systems, and selling that stolen data to Iranian customers such as Iranian universities and the Iranian government. Sabahi was a contractor for the Mabna Institute , a private government contractor based in the Islamic Republic of Iran that performed this work for the Iranian government, at the behest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Victims of the scheme included approximately 144 universities in the United States, 176 foreign universities in 21 countries, five federal and state government agencies in the United States, 36 private companies in the United States, 11 foreign private companies, and two international non-governmental organizations. On February 7, 2018, a grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Sabahi on computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges, and a federal arrest warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Remarks: Sabahi is known to speak Farsi and resides in Iran.
Timeline of Events
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2015
Cyber intrusion campaign begins
Sabahi and associates begin unauthorized access to university and government computer systems
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2018-02-07
Federal indictment issued
Grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York indicts Sabahi on computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges
Key Locations
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Case Information
Incident:January 1, 2015
Last Updated:June 7, 2026
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Case Information
Incident:January 1, 2015
Last Updated:June 7, 2026