Dr. Karim Arabi, the former vice president of Qualcomm’s Research and Development Department, is facing potential sentencing of up to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of fraud and money laundering. The jury determined that Arabi had orchestrated a complex scheme to defraud Qualcomm out of $180 million, which is one of the leading developers of ARM processors for smartphones.

His fraudulent activities involved a third-party company, which he concealed from Qualcomm. Despite his employment contract stating that any technology developed during his time at Qualcomm would belong to the company, Arabi secretly founded an external firm called Abreezio.

Through this entity, he sold microchip technology back to Qualcomm while possibly utilizing Qualcomm’s resources for development. To keep his role as Abreezio’s founder and CEO hidden, Arabi took various steps to obscure his involvement.

He chose the company’s name and managed its operations while using fake email accounts as well as assuming the identity of his sister, Sheida Alan. She was falsely represented as the creator of the technology purchased by Qualcomm, and even her name was altered to evade detection of their familial connection.

Judge Andrew Haden remarked on the case, stating that Arabi abused the trust placed in him for personal gain, emphasizing that fraud will be met with serious consequences in the Southern District of California. The investigation was significant, involving the FBI and IRS, which unraveled Arabi’s scheme to deceive Qualcomm.

Additionally, other individuals connected to the fraud have pleaded guilty. Ali Akbar Shokouhi, a former Qualcomm employee and Abreezio’s primary backer, along with Sanjiv Taneja, the nominal CEO of Abreezio, are awaiting sentencing.

As for Arabi, the gravity of his actions may lead to a lengthy prison term.