On October 28, 2025, following a five-week federal criminal jury trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP successfully secured its client a sentence that is a fraction of the government’s request.

BKLW represented Dr. Karim Arabi in the high-stakes trial stemming from allegations of his involvement in a $180 million wire fraud and money laundering scheme related to Qualcomm. The case was both factually and legally complex, involving cutting-edge intellectual property and intricate financial transactions.

Aggressive Litigation Throughout

From the outset, BKLW pursued an aggressive and creative motion strategy. The defense team, led by partner Whitney Z. Bernstein, filed multiple challenges to the indictment, including arguments for dismissal based on the Supreme Court’s narrowed interpretation of “property” under the wire fraud statute. The team litigated discovery disputes asserting that Brady obligations override privilege assertions, challenged the enforceability of Qualcomm’s invention assignment agreement, and engaged in extensive litigation over non-party subpoenas involving highly technical patent and source code materials.

Of the co-defendants, two pled guilty with cooperation agreements, while two others are still contesting extradition. Though the defense team, including partners Ryan V. Fraser and Rebecca Roberts, paralegal Leah Thompson, and project assistant Michelle Dillon, fought hard for Dr. Arabi, the jury ultimately returned a guilty verdict.

Mitigation That Moved the Court

At sentencing, the court acknowledged the profound mitigating circumstances BKLW presented. Describing the case as involving extraordinary inequities, the Honorable Cynthia A. Bashant, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, found that the suffering experienced by Dr. Arabi’s family was outside of the heartland and constituted grounds for downward variance. BKLW also successfully illustrated the collateral consequences of Dr. Arabi’s status as a lawful permanent resident facing deportation, the reputational devastation he had endured, and his compelling personal history as additional reasons for a significant departure from the Sentencing Guidelines.

The defense presented over a dozen character letters-including, remarkably, letters from three jurors who convicted Dr. Arabi urging leniency. As one juror wrote: “One thing the majority of us jurors agreed on is that the defendant does not belong in prison.”

From Life Imprisonment to 48 Months

The government sought a draconian outcome. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, the Presentence Investigation Report calculated an advisory range of life imprisonment, capped at the statutory maximum of 720 months (60 years) based on stacked consecutive maximums. The U.S. Attorney’s Office requested 151 months—over 12 years in federal prison.

Judge Bashant rejected the government’s position and sentenced Dr. Arabi to 48 months—a fraction of what prosecutors demanded and a remarkable departure from a Guidelines range that contemplated life behind bars.

The court’s ultimate sentence reflects BKLW’s hallmark approach: relentless advocacy at every stage, combined with thorough and compelling mitigation that humanizes the client and provides the court a roadmap to a just result.