A naturalized U.S. citizen living in Great Falls, Virginia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to working with Iranian government and intelligence officials on their behalf in the U.S. as a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) between 2017 and 2024.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said 42-year-old Abouzar Rahmati pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Iranian government in the U.S. without prior notification to the Attorney General.

Rahmati previously was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 1st Lt., a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, from June 2009 to May 2010. The IRGC is a designated terrorist group by the U.S. government.

Court documents show that from at least December 2017 through June 2024, Rahmati worked with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials on their behalf in the U.S.

A naturalized U.S. citizen living in Great Falls, Virginia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to working with Iranian government and intelligence officials on their behalf in the U.S. as a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Rahmati stored the files on removable media, which he took to Iran in April 2022 and provided to government officials, according to the DOJ.

He also provided additional information about solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports, and U.S. air traffic control towers to his brother living in Iran in April 2022, the DOJ added, so his brother could provide the files to intelligence officials on Rahmati’s behalf.

Rahmati is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26, and he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government, and up to five years in prison for conspiracy.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.