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144 U.S. universities, 176 foreign universities, 5 U.S. government agencies, 36 U.S. private companies, and international organizations

The person at the center of this case

144 U.S. universities, 176 foreign universities, 5 U.S. government agencies, 36 U.S. private companies, and international organizations

Case
#867
SourceFBI WantedUpdated Mar 15, 2026
Iran
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; Federal Bureau of Investigation
Cold Case · Open
8 years waiting · since 2018

GHOLAMREZA RAFATNEJAD

Justice for 144 U.S. universities, 176 foreign universities, 5 U.S. government agencies, 36 U.S. private companies, and international organizations — the trail went cold in 2018, but the truth hasn't.

Start here

Key leads to think about

🎯
suspect
Lead #1

Why did Rafatnejad choose to remain in Iran rather than attempt to flee to another country, and what protection does he receive from Iranian authorities?

🔍
evidence
Lead #2

What specific proprietary research and data from U.S. universities and government agencies was most valuable to Iranian interests?

👤
person
Lead #3

Who were the other members of the Mabna Institute leadership, and have they also been identified and indicted?

Gholamreza Rafatnejad is wanted for leading a sophisticated cyber espionage operation that targeted over 140 U.S. universities, government agencies, and private companies to steal proprietary data and research for the Iranian government. Operating through the Mabna Institute, a private Iranian contractor, Rafatnejad coordinated the unauthorized access to computer systems and sale of stolen information to Iranian entities including universities and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He remains at large in Iran, and locating him requires international cooperation to hold him accountable for one of the largest state-sponsored intellectual property theft campaigns in U.S. history.

Case
#867
SourceFBI WantedUpdated Mar 15, 2026
Iran
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; Federal Bureau of Investigation

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More leads to consider

Beyond the top three above — each detail below could be the thread that pulls this case open.

📍
location
Lead #4

How did the Mabna Institute operate as a private contractor while serving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps?

Have information about any of these leads?

Even the smallest detail could be the key to solving this case.

Official wording

Source Narrative

Conspiracy to Commit Computer Hacking; Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Computer Fraud - Unauthorized Access for Private Financial Gain; Wire Fraud; Aggravated Identity Theft Caution: Gholamreza Rafatnejad is wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal activities, including obtaining unauthorized access to computer systems, stealing proprietary data from those systems, and selling that stolen data to Iranian customers such as Iranian universities and the Iranian government. Rafatnejad was a leader of the Mabna Institute , a private government contractor based in the Islamic Republic of Iran that performed this work for the Iranian government, at the behest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Victims of the scheme included approximately 144 universities in the United States, 176 foreign universities in 21 countries, five federal and state government agencies in the United States, 36 private companies in the United States, 11 foreign private companies, and two international non-governmental organizations. On February 7, 2018, a grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Rafatnejad on computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges, and a federal arrest warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Remarks: Rafatnejad is known to speak Farsi and resides in Iran.

Timeline of Events

🕵️
2018-02-07

Federal Indictment Issued

A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Gholamreza Rafatnejad on charges of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized computer access for private financial gain.

Case Information

Incident:February 7, 2018
Last Updated:June 16, 2026

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Case Information

Incident:February 7, 2018
Last Updated:June 16, 2026