Two men from the San Fernando Valley have been taken into custody on allegations of running a fraudulent electronics export business. Saman Delafraz of Woodland Hills and Benjamin Daneshgar of Studio City stand accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering, part of a scheme that purportedly involved the export of consumer electronics and gift cards worth $611 million acquired through identity theft and credit card fraud, according to a federal complaint. Both men are due for their first court appearances tomorrow in downtown Los Angeles.
An affidavit associated with the case details how Delafraz, 32, and Daneshgar, 34, operated their company, Wireless World, from warehouses in Van Nuys, California, and New Castle, Delaware. Their setup was designed, so it seems, to aggregate electronics and then ship them abroad; and since 2019, the operation exported over $611 million worth of electronics, which authorities believe to be proceeds from criminal activities. In addition to the arrests, searches were carried out at the company's warehouses and at Delafraz's residence, with bank accounts linked to Wireless World seized under federal warrants.
These electronics and gift cards were sourced from various illicit channels, including transactions with Blade Bai, 37, of El Monte, who was convicted of federal money laundering in 2023 and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. Bai's involvement included selling items derived from telephone scams that tricked victims into purchasing gift cards, which were then laundered into new ones to hide the origins of the funds, as stated in the U.S. Attorney's Office press release.
Another supplier, Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, a.k.a. "Parcero," 58, of Canyon Country, provided electronics and gift cards to Wireless World between December 2018 and August 2024. Currently in federal custody, Thola faces charges for his role as a facilitator for South American theft rings, which used illegal means to acquire goods, including the use of stolen bank cards. Thola and several other defendants are slated for trial in January 2026.
Delafraz and Daneshgar are also accused of directly engaging in fraudulent purchases. They allegedly obtained electronics from major retailers such as Best Buy and The Home Depot by using gift cards charged with the proceeds of credit card fraud—a method that involved shipping goods straight to their warehouse or to other mailboxes under their control. While the charges in a criminal complaint are merely allegations, the two face a maximum sentence of 20 years if convicted in federal prison. The investigation into these matters involves Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Khaldoun Shobaki from the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Ryan J. Waters from the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section. Ciaran McEvoy, a Public Information Officer, confirmed the details of the case.
