The Justice Department has unsealed an indictment against three Iranian nationals, who are employees of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The individuals charged are Masoud Jalili, 36, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, 34, and Yaser Balaghi, 37. They are accused of conspiring to hack into accounts of U.S. officials, media members, NGOs, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns as part of Iran's efforts to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
The indictment alleges that starting in May, the conspirators targeted personal accounts belonging to individuals associated with a U.S. Presidential campaign (U.S. Presidential Campaign 1), stealing non-public campaign documents and emails. By late June, they engaged in a "hack-and-leak" operation to undermine U.S. Presidential Campaign 1 by leaking stolen materials to media members and another identified U.S. Presidential campaign (U.S. Presidential Campaign 2).
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated: "The Justice Department is working relentlessly to uncover and counter Iran’s cyberattacks aimed at stoking discord, undermining confidence in our democratic institutions, and influencing our elections."
FBI Director Christopher Wray added: "Today’s charges represent the culmination of a thorough and long-running FBI investigation that has resulted in the indictment of three Iranian nationals for their roles in a wide-ranging hacking campaign sponsored by the Government of Iran."
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen noted: "These hack-and-leak efforts by Iran are a direct assault on the integrity of our democratic processes."
U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves emphasized: "This indictment alleges a serious and sustained effort by a state-sponsored terrorist organization to gather intelligence through hacking personal accounts so they can use the hacked materials to harm Americans and corruptly influence our election."
According to the indictment, since January 2020, Jalili, Aghamiri, and Balaghi have been involved in a hacking campaign using spearphishing and social engineering techniques targeting victims' computers and accounts.
In April 2019, the Department of State designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.
The defendants face multiple charges including conspiracy to commit identity theft and wire fraud while falsely registering domain names which carry significant penalties if convicted.
Concurrent with this announcement, the Department of State issued a reward for information on Jalili, Aghamiri, Balaghi or IRGC’s interference in U.S. elections through its Rewards for Justice Program.
The FBI Washington Field Office is leading this investigation with assistance from various other field offices and private sector partners like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Meta.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal Chawla and Christopher Tortorice along with Trial Attorney Greg Nicosia are prosecuting this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.