Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any foreign person, including a foreign entity, who knowingly engaged or is engaging in interference in U.S. elections, as well as information leading to the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act of foreign election interference.
Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi Toghroljerdi serves on the Board of Directors for Iran-based Emennet Pasargad (Emennet). As an employee of this cyber company, he participated in a coordinated campaign that attempted to interfere in U.S. elections.
Iranian cyber company Emennet, formerly known as Eeleyanet Gostar and Net Peygard Samavat Company, led an attempted election influence campaign targeting the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Starting in August 2020, Emennet actors conducted a multi-faceted campaign targeting the U.S. presidential election. As part of this effort, the actors obtained confidential U.S. voter information from at least one state election website; sent threatening email messages to intimidate voters; created and disseminated a video containing disinformation pertaining to purported but non-existent voting vulnerabilities; attempted to access, without authorization, several states’ voting-related websites; and successfully gained unauthorized access to a U.S. media company’s computer network. Emennet actors claimed affiliation with the Proud Boys in the voter intimidation and disinformation aspects of the campaign.
In November 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Toghroljerdi pursuant to Executive Order 13848 for attempting to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Anyone with information on Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi Toghroljerdi or associated entities and/or individuals linked to foreign interference in U.S. elections should contact Rewards for Justice via our Tor-based tips-reporting channel at: he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onion (Tor browser required).
