FBI Arrested 2 Men Posing as DHS Agents, Gave Gifts to Secret Service Agents
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, also known as the FBI, has arrested two men who posed as Department of Homeland Security agents, claiming they were part of the January 6 task force.
The two men also offered gifts to Service agents, including some assigned to to the protection detail for members of the First Family, according to a Raw Story news report.
The men arrested by the FBI were identified as 40-year-old Arian Taherzadeh and 36-year-old Haider Ali.
More than a dozen FBI agents barge into a luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington on Wednesday evening.
Prosecutors alleged that the two posed as law enforcement officers to integrate with actual federal agents, according to an Associated Press News report.
Taherzadeh is accused of providing Secret Service officers and agents with rent-free apartments, which included a penthouse worth over $40,000 a year, iPhones, surveillance systems, and a drone among others.
The 40-year-old suspect also gave a flat-screen television, a generator, a gun case, and other policing tools, according to court documents.
Taherzadeh also offered to let them use a black GMC SUV that he identified as an "official government vehicle," according to prosecutors.
He also offered to purchase a $2,000 rifle for a Secret Service agent who was assigned to protect the first lady.
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Secret Service Agents Placed on Leave
The complaint noted that four members of the Secret Service were placed on administrative leave as of April 4, according to The Washington Post News report.
The Secret Service has yet to comment on the matter.
In February 2020, the two men posed as DHS officers or employees starting February 2020.
The FBI said in a statement that personnel was conducting "court-authorized law enforcement activity."
The investigation into the two men started on March 14 when a U.S. Postal Service inspector went to a D.C. apartment complex to respond to a complaint of an assault on a letter carrier at the building.
The building houses many people who work for the FBI, Secret Service, Department of Defense, and Navy.
Residents told the inspector that Ali and Taherzadeh identified themselves as residents as DHS investigations special agents, who may have witnessed the assault.
The affidavit stated that the two claimed they were "special police" officers involved in undercover gang-related investigations related to the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol.
Other residents told the inspector that the two men used several apartments in the building, claiming the DHS paid the rent, as well as having used an SUV equipped with emergency lights.
The men identified it as their "official DHS vehicle."
The inspector learned about the gifts the men gave to Special Service agents. However, the document did not state how the inspector learned about it.
The DHS was informed about the incident, which then prompted the agency to inform the FBI.
Investigators alleged that at one instance Taherzadeh sent a stock photo from the Internet to one witness and claimed it to be in Homeland Security Investigations training.
Prosecutors noted that the investigation is still ongoing.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
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