Three Silicon Valley engineers charged with stealing Google trade secrets and sending data to Iran

A federal grand jury indicted three Silicon Valley engineers on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google and other technology companies and transferring sensitive data to Iran, prosecutors said Thursday.

Samaneh Ghandali, 41, her sister Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40 — all residents of San Jose — were arrested Thursday and appeared in a federal district court the same day.

The indictment identified the defendants as Iranian nationals. Soroor was in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant student visa. Samaneh later became a U.S. citizen, and Khosravi, her husband, became a U.S. legal permanent resident. Prosecutors said that Khosravi previously served in the Iranian army.

The trio faces charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S….