two weeks later was detained by Iranian authorities , after the recipient of the money was arrested on charges of association with an anti-regime group called Tondar . The group , which seeks to restore the monarchy in Iran , claimed responsibility for the April 12 , 2008 , bombing of the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada mosque in the city of Shiraz . Prosper declined to name the man , who he said has since been tried and convicted . Taghavi has a rag-to-riches story , his 36-year old daughter , Leila Taghavi , told CNN . He brought his family to the United States in 1979 , before the revolution , and stayed on in California to keep his family safe . Leila Taghavi said her father taught himself English , started a video game company in his garage and grew it into a successful corporation , which he handed over to his son when he retired 10 years ago . `` His life was the American dream , '' Leila said . `` He learned everything the hard way , sacrificed for his children and taught us to be grateful for the good things . He is wonderful ,
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An American lawyer has been holding secret negotiations with Iran for the release of an Iranian-American being detained for two years . Reza Taghavi , a retired businessman from Orange County , California , has been held in Iran 's notorious Evin prison since his arrest in May 2008 without ever being charged , his lawyer said . Los Angeles-based attorney Pierre Prosper told CNN he has been talking to the Iranian government since September 2009 and traveled to Tehran in December to seek the release of Taghavi , a retired businessman accused of supporting an anti-regime group . Taghavi , 71 , traveled frequently to Iran to visit family and friends without incident , according to Prosper . In April 2008 , he went to Tehran with his wife . Before he left , he was asked by an acquaintance in Los Angeles to take $ 200 for a friend in Tehran `` who was down on his luck . '' Los Angeles has a large Persian community . Taghavi did not know the individual to whom he was asked to deliver the money , Prosper said . He handed over the money and