TALLAHASSEE — A University of Florida professor and his wife have been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering that stem from $3.7 million in contracts the couple entered into with NASA, the Air Force and the Navy.
In the 71-count indictment, the federal grand jury charged Samim Anghaie, 60; and his wife, Sousan Anghaie, 55, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 50 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, 17 counts of money laundering, and one count of making false statements to the government. Sousan Anghaie also faces a separate count of making false statements.
According to the indictment, the engineering professor served as director of the Innovation Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute at UF and also as president and registered agent of New Era Technology Inc., a business in which Sousan Anghaie had previously served as director and vice president. Authorities say the couple submitted proposals for contracts with NASA, the Air Force, and Navy that contained false information.
The indictment alleges the proposals contained research, analysis and information that the Anghaies said was the work of New Era Technology — yet had actually been lifted from research projects, papers, theses, and presentations of graduate and doctoral students at UF, unbeknownst to them.
If convicted, Samim and Sousan Anghaie could get 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges.
UF learned about the feds' investigation in February and promptly put the professor on administrative leave, where he remains. UF also cut off his access to funding, awards and university resources.
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