Secret Service agents arrested

Mr. Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, were charged with one count of false impersonation of an officer of the United States, the affidavit said. The F.B.I. arrested them on Wednesday in Southeast Washington. The two-year scheme began in February 2020 and ...

As part of the recruitment process, the men shot the witness with an Airsoft rifle “to evaluate their pain tolerance and reaction,” Mr. Elias wrote. There is no record that he had ever participated in such training, he the affidavit said. The men told the inspector that they were investigators with the U.S. Special Police Investigation Unit, according to the affidavit. He also sent an agent a photo that he claimed showed a training session for Homeland Security Investigations. The investigation of Mr. Taherzadeh and Mr. Ali began after a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service was assaulted in March at an apartment complex where the men had been living. Mr. Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, were charged with one count of false impersonation of an officer of the United States, the affidavit said. It was not clear why they told this to residents. Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. declined to suggest a motive or further information about the two men. In 2012, several agents resigned or faced their dismissal after revelations that they had engaged in misconduct while protecting President Barack Obama during an overseas trip to Colombia, including encounters with prostitutes. The men were scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday. The inspector also learned that Mr. Taherzadeh and Mr. Ali were in regular contact with several members of the Secret Service who lived in the same building and that the men had given them gifts, Mr. Elias wrote. The residents said that Mr. Taherzadeh and Mr. Ali had placed various pieces of surveillance equipment around the building and told residents that they had access to their cellphones and personal information, according to the affidavit.

The two allegedly used fake credentials to get closer to members of federal law enforcement agencies, including Secret Service agents assigned to the first ...

In July 2021, Taherzadeh and Ali met "Witness 2," a Secret Service agent, according to the FBI. Taherzadeh told the agent about his job with the HSI, and sent the agent several photos of himself in his "police tactical gear" and of HSI training, the latter of which turned out to be a stock image found on the internet, the FBI said. Taherzadeh showed the agent a computer with "DHS information" on it, an HSI badge, special police officer credentials, a ballistic vest with DHS/HSI on it and firearms. Witness 5 also saw Taherzadeh fire a glock at a gun range, and the agent personally fired one of Taherzadeh's AR-15 style rifles at the range. "All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems," it said. "Witness 4" is a document analysis expert with the DHS-HSI and lived in the same building as well. Taherzadeh and Ali told authorities they were members of a DHS police force, and that they were involved in undercover gang-related probes, and also investigating last year's riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to the affidavit, Taherzadeh told Witness 1 that as part of the "HSI recruiting process" he would shoot the witness with an air rifle to evaluate their "reaction and pain tolerance." Another Secret Service agent, identified as "Witness 3," lived in a penthouse in the apartment building provided by Taherzadeh rent-free from February 2021 until January 2022. Other residents in the building said the two — who held several apartments in the building that they said were "being paid for by DHS" — had access to residents' surveillance cameras, cell phones and other personal information. Ellias alleges the agent still has the holder. The two allegedly obtained paraphernalia, handguns and assault rifles used by federal law enforcement agencies. Four Secret Service agents have been placed on administrative leave amid the ongoing investigation.

The two men - Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36 - were taken into custody as more than a dozen FBI agents charged into a luxury apartment building in ...

The residents also told investigators they believed the men had access to their personal information. The residents also told investigators they believed the men had access to their personal information. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing. In one instance, Taherzadeh offered to purchase a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent who is assigned to protect the first lady. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing. In one instance, Taherzadeh offered to purchase a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent who is assigned to protect the first lady.

Arian Taherzadeh is charged with impersonating a federal law enforcement officer along with another man, Haider Ali. Both of the men allegedly gave gifts to ...

"TAHERZADEH stated that he had an extra holster and wanted to give Witness 2 the Ayin Tactical Holster for Witness 2's newly issued Glock 19 Generation 5. "All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems. "TAHERZADEH came to Witness 2's apartment carrying a Glock 19 Generation 5 in an Ayin Tactical Holster," the court documents said. The men told an inspector from the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) that they were part of a DHS unit called the U.S. Special Police Investigation Unit, which does not exist. He also offered to buy him a $2,000 rifle. Four Secret Service agents have been suspended, including one assigned to the first lady.

Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36 were taken into custody and accused of posing as federal agents, according to court documents.

The residents also told investigators they believed the men had access to their personal information. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing. He also offered to let them use a black GMC SUV that he identified as an “official government vehicle,” prosecutors say. Prosecutors allege Taherzadeh and Ali had falsely claimed to work for the Department of Homeland Security and on a special task force investigating gangs and violence connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. They allege the two posed as law enforcement officers to integrate with actual federal agents. The U.S. Secret Service says it is working with other law enforcement agencies in the investigation and is coordinating with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged two men they say posed as federal agents and gave free apartments and other gifts to U.S. Secret Service agents, including one who worked on the first lady’s security detail.

40-year-old Arian Taherzadeh and 36-year-old Haider Ali were arrested and charged after they allegedly falsely claimed they worked for the Department of ...

All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems." The men also set up surveillance systems in a D.C. building and claimed to residents "that they could access any of their cellphones at any time," the AP reports. Additionally, according to CNN, Taherzadeh allegedly gifted federal agents "iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, a flat screen television, a case for storing an assault rifle, a generator, and law enforcement paraphernalia."

Two D.C. men have been charged in a scheme to provide rent-free apartments, other gratuities to Secret Service members.

Another Secret Service employee, a member of the agency's Uniformed Division assigned to the White House complex, was provided access to a penthouse apartment valued at $40,200 between February 2021 and January 2022. WASHINGTON - At least four U.S. Secret Service employees have been placed on leave related to their association with two men and a scheme to provide the federal officers with tens of thousands of dollars in rent-free apartments and other gratuities. Secret Service members put on leave, tied to scheme providing rent-free apartments to feds

(CNN) — The FBI arrested two men in Washington, DC, Wednesday for allegedly impersonating Department of Homeland Security agents for more than two years, ...

Taherzadeh and Ali’s alleged ruse was uncovered when a US Postal Inspector started investigating an alleged assault of a USPS letter carrier in an apartment complex where the two men allegedly had multiple units, according to court documents. CNN has not been able to identify attorneys for the two men. A source familiar with the situation said that FBI raid is related to the arrest of the two men. The Secret Service adheres to the highest levels of professional standards and conduct and will remain in active coordination with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.” FBI agents were seen entering an apartment building in Washington’s Navy Yard Wednesday afternoon. All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems.

The FBI arrested two men in Washington, DC, Wednesday for allegedly impersonating Department of Homeland Security agents for more than two years, ...

Taherzadeh and Ali's alleged ruse was uncovered when a US Postal Inspector started investigating an alleged assault of a USPS letter carrier in an apartment complex where the two men allegedly had multiple units, according to court documents. A source familiar with the situation said that FBI raid is related to the arrest of the two men. The Secret Service adheres to the highest levels of professional standards and conduct and will remain in active coordination with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security."

The FBI arrested two men in Washington, D.C., on charges that they falsely impersonated federal agents to ingratiate themselves with the U.S. law ...

The inspector was informed that Taherzadeh and Ali witnessed the incident. The complaint said Taherzadeh provided members of the Secret Service and a DHS employee with rent-free apartments, worth a total yearly rent of more than $40,000 per apartment, as well as iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, a flat-screen television, a generator, law enforcement paraphernalia and a case for storing an assault rifle. The men claimed to be involved in undercover gang-related investigations, as well as conducting investigations related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the complaint said. Subsequent to being shot, the applicant was informed that their hiring was in process." Both men pretended to work as special agents in the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI alleges. In a statement Thursday morning, the Secret Service said, “All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment, and systems.

The bizarre scheme allegedly involved one of the men offering to purchase a $2000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent on Jill Biden's security detail.

The AP reported that at least four employees were placed on leave. Their elaborate fraud only began to unravel when a US postal inspector began looking into the alleged assault of a mail carrier in their apartment complex last month. The bizarre scheme allegedly involved one of the men offering to purchase a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent on Jill Biden's security detail.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday, April 6, charged two men who allegedly posed as federal agents who gave free apartments and other gifts to U.S. Secret ...

Four members were placed on leave after receiving gifts from the men, including rent-free apartments, an affidavit said. One was in the first lady's ...

As part of the recruitment process, the men shot the witness with an Airsoft rifle “to evaluate their pain tolerance and reaction,” Mr. Elias wrote. The men told the inspector that they were investigators with the U.S. Special Police Investigation Unit, according to the affidavit. The investigation of Mr. Taherzadeh and Mr. Ali began after a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service was assaulted in March at an apartment complex where the men had been living. There is no record that he had ever participated in such training, he the affidavit said. He also sent an agent a photo that he claimed showed a training session for Homeland Security Investigations. He said they found equipment and paraphernalia usually associated with law enforcement, including body armor, gas masks, zip ties, hand-held radios, a drone like the ones used by S.W.A.T. teams, Homeland Security patches, 40 to 50 rounds of ammunition, weapon stocks and documents that were stamped “law enforcement sensitive.” One of the men told several people that he had connections to Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, prosecutors said in federal court on Thursday. Joshua Rothstein, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge during the court proceeding on Thursday that both men were flight risks and should remain in custody. It was not clear why they told this to residents. In 2012, several agents resigned or faced their dismissal after revelations that they had engaged in misconduct while protecting President Barack Obama during an overseas trip to Colombia, including encounters with prostitutes. Federal prosecutors declined to give a motive or provide further information about the two men. One claimed ties to Pakistani intelligence, prosecutors said.

The U.S. Secret Service has suspended four agents linked to two men accused of impersonating federal law enforcement officers who authorities said gave ...

The applicant was also assigned to conduct research on an individual that provided support to the Department of Defense and intelligence community." "He's a good person. Rothstein also said U.S. authorities have recovered a passport from Ali containing three visas to visit Pakistan and two to visit Iran. In an interview with Reuters at a house in northern Virginia, Ali's mother, Zahida, said she was confused when she heard news reports of her son allegedly lying about being a police officer. The two Washington men, Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, appeared in federal court on Thursday a day after being arrested. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, were arrested in what the government says was a ruse to ingratiate themselves with Secret Service agents and U.S. ...

The person agreed, and Taherzadeh shot them, according to the affidavit. One witness, a uniformed Secret Service agent assigned to protect the White House Complex, said they saw Taherzadeh use a Private Identity Verification card to access a laptop labeled with a DHS symbol, and a federal privacy notice appeared when Taherzadeh went to log in. Taherzadeh told a Secret Service agent assigned to the first lady’s detail, for example, that he was the “go-to guy” if a resident needed anything, and showed the agent “security footage from various areas of the apartment complex, indicating that he had gained access to the security system for the entire apartment complex,” according to the affidavit. According to a lawsuit, the men listed a company, Bethesda, Md.-based AEH Solutions, as the payee, claiming Taherzadeh was the president and made $70,000 a month. He sued in 2016 and won a judgment for $290,000 against Taherzadeh and AET, which included back pay, expenses that were not reimbursed and interest. One client, Moses Kamai, was hired by a purported security company with government contracts that Taherzadeh ran, then called AET Holdings, according to Mauro and one of the lawsuits. One woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for safety, said she first saw Taherzadeh in December 2020. The Secret Service put on leave four employees connected to the case, though the bureau characterized them in court papers as witnesses who seemed to have been duped by a well-executed ploy. Where the men got their money — and how much they actually had — was unclear. The prosecutor said that it appeared that Ali entered Iran once, and that his visas to Pakistan were older. Ali had three visas for travel to Pakistan and two for travel to Iran, Rothstein said. Federal law enforcement officials did not say what motivated the men or what they wanted in return as they, according to prosecutors, “ingratiated themselves with and infiltrated” Secret Service agents and DHS personnel who lived in their D.C. apartment building.

One suspect obtained two 90-day visas from Iran and traveled there twice, not long before ruse began in February 2020.

"Ali obtained two 90-day visas from Iran and traveled there twice, not long before the charged activity began" in February 2020, the court documents stated. In a brief statement Thursday, the Secret Service said it was cooperating with the "ongoing investigation." "All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment, and systems," the agency said.

Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36, were arrested on Wednesday evening when FBI agents and United States Postal Service cops swarmed the plush Crossing ...

The scheme allegedly fell apart in March when neighbors fingered the two men as federal law enforcement agents who may have witnessed an assault on a letter carrier at their apartment complex. In another disturbing sign of how convincing the two men’s alleged ruse was, Taherzadeh and Ali successfully conned an unnamed “applicant” to join a Homeland Security “task force” they’d invented. He also sent the agent photos of himself with vast amounts of police gear and a pic of him at a “training course” that the FBI says was actually a stock photo.

A Secret Service agent assigned to protect first lady Jill Biden is a witness in the case of two men accused of impersonating Homeland Security agents.

He was separately arrested that month in Fairfax County, Va., and charged with assault and battery of his then-girlfriend, according to the filing. The Secret Service has not said if any of the agents who were placed on leave was one agent assigned to Jill Biden's protective detail. Those access codes allow tenants to enter their apartments and the amenity areas, and operate elevators in the complex. The filing says that Taherzadeh pleaded guilty in September 2013 in a Virginia court to misdemeanor assault and battery of his wife. The filing also notes that Taherzadeh in February 2020 applied for a concealed weapons permit, but "was denied due to his prior history of violence and instability," which included two cases in which he was charged in 2013 with assaulting two women: his wife and his girlfriend. And "Taherzadeh stated that Ali had obtained the electronic access codes and a list of all of the tenants in the apartment complex," which has hundreds of units, the filing said.