An Iranian citizen pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a New York court to charges including smuggling aliens into the US, at least one of which had ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Sharon Gohari, who is also a naturalised US citizen, solicited and received payments from Iranians and others seeking to enter the US illegally in exchange for arranging and enabling their entry, the Department of Justice said in a release.
Gohari also pleaded guilty to intentionally receiving child sexual abuse material.
The Department of Justice said that from 2020 to 2025, Gohari, who travelled frequently to Iran, helped Iranian citizens cross the US border from Mexico, helping them to obtain travel visas at the Mexican embassy in Iran and arranging their travel in large groups over the US border. He charged thousands of dollars for these services, the department said.
One of the people admitted after being detained by border patrol agents that he had previously carried out tasks in Iran and Malaysia for the IRGC.
“As this case illustrates, we cannot protect our national security without a secure border,” said John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security. “Gohari made a business of smuggling aliens into the United States ... I applaud the investigators and prosecutors who made possible today’s plea, taking this defendant off our streets.”
For the child sex abuse material charge, Gohari faces between five to 20 years in prison, with between three to 10 years for the smuggling charge.
