The FBI on Wednesday arrested two men for allegedly impersonating Department of Homeland Security agents.
According to reports, Haider Ali, 36, and Arian Taherzadeh, 40, were taken into custody after "more than a dozen" FBI agents stormed an apartment building in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
The two reportedly obtained paraphernalia, handguns, and assault rifles used by federal law enforcement agencies and used their false associations with the U.S. government "to ingratiate themselves with members of federal law enforcement and the defense community," according to the FBI.
Ali and Taherzadeh provided "rent-free apartments" to a DHS employee and a member of the Secret Service, according to court documents. The rent value for each apartment reportedly exceeded $40,000 per year.
Ali and Taherzadeh also showered federal agents with expensive gifts, according to reports. Taherzadeh even offered to purchase a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent assigned to first lady Jill Biden's security detail.
According to an affidavit, this ruse had carried on for more than two years; and during this period, Ali and Taherzadeh were able to build up a network of real FBI agents and Secret Service agents, according to The Associated Press and Washington Post.
Citing an AOL report, Ali and Taherzadeh had somehow convinced real government officials "that their employment was legitimate."
According to CNN, four Secret Service agents have been placed on administrative leave, pending further investigation. However, it remains unclear if the suspended agents had been assigned to the first lady's detail, or had inside access to the White House.
In its statement to CNN, the Secret Service said: "The Secret Service has worked, and continues to work, with its law enforcement partners on this ongoing investigation. All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems.
"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."
Citing a Yahoo News report, federal prosecutors believe Ali and Taherzadeh began posing as federal agents in February 2020.
The court documents also say Taherzadeh allegedly gave federal agents expensive gifts, such as iPhones, flat-screen TVs, cases for storing rifles, surveillance systems, a generator, and law enforcement paraphernalia. When pressed about the source of the gifts, Taherzadeh apparently told the unsuspecting agents that everything had been provided by the DHS.
Taherzadeh also apparently recruited an unknown individual to research the duties of a government contractor working for the Department of Defense and intelligence community.
The operation was apparently foiled by a U.S. postal inspector. According to court documents, the inspector had investigated an alleged assault of a USPS letter carrier in the same Navy Yard apartment complex where Ali and Taherzadeh had multiple units.
Within the scope of the assault investigation, the inspector learned about the gifts provided to certain Secret Service members.
The inspector then forwarded all the findings to the DHS Office of Inspector General, which then contacted the FBI, according to reports.
CNN reports that Ali and Taherzadeh will be arraigned Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey.
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