Van Nuys Company Owners Arrested in $611 Million Money Laundering Scheme
LOS ANGELES, CA – Two San Fernando Valley men have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a large-scale operation that allegedly exported over $611 million in consumer electronics and gift cards obtained through criminal activity. Saman Delafraz, 32, of woodland Hills, and Benjamin Daneshgar, 34, of Studio City, are named in a federal criminal complaint filed in the Central District of California.
The men are accused of operating Wireless World, a company with warehouses in Van Nuys, California, and New Castle, Delaware, which aggregated electronics for export since 2019. Federal authorities believe the vast majority of goods processed by Wireless World were purchased with proceeds from crimes including identity theft, credit card theft, and fraud.
Federal warrants were executed today, resulting in searches of the Van Nuys and Delaware warehouses, as well as DelafrazS residence. Bank accounts associated with Wireless World have also been seized.
The investigation revealed that delafraz and Daneshgar sourced electronics and gift cards from multiple illicit sources. This included Blade Bai, currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for federal money laundering, who supplied goods derived from telephone scams targeting victims into providing gift card numbers. These gift cards were then used to purchase electronics, effectively laundering the funds.
Another supplier, Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 58, of Canyon Country (also known as “Parcero”), provided Wireless World with electronics and gift cards from December 2018 to August 2024.Thola-Duran is currently in federal custody and faces separate charges related to coordinating and fencing stolen goods for South American crime tourism groups. His trial, along with several co-defendants, is scheduled for January 2026.
Authorities also allege that Delafraz and Daneshgar directly engaged in fraudulent purchases, using gift cards loaded with funds from stolen credit cards to buy electronics from retailers like Best Buy and The Home Depot. These purchases were often shipped directly to the Wireless World warehouse or to mailboxes controlled by the defendants.
delafraz and Daneshgar are scheduled to make their initial appearances in United States District Court in Los Angeles. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI,with significant assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Cobb County Police department (Georgia). The case is being prosecuted by assistant United States Attorneys Khaldoun Shobaki and Ryan J. Waters of the Central District of California.
Notably a criminal complaint contains allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
