Two men who allegedly posed as federal law enforcement agents were tipped off to the FBI’s raid on their apartments, according to a court document filed Sunday.
Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36, were arrested in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for allegedly posing as Homeland Security agents since as early as February 2020 to buy off members of the Secret Service, including one officer assigned to First Lady Jill Biden’s security detail, according to an affidavit. (RELATED: Two Men Allegedly Pretended To Be Federal Law Enforcement, Buying Lavish Gifts For Secret Service Officers)
The suspects were allegedly tipped off before the FBI came for them, buying them time to stash guns and other possessions, according to the memo from U.S. attorney Matthew Graves.
The two are each charged with the federal offense of False Impersonation of an Officer of the United States, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
UPDATE: FBI now entering the building with boxes, some appearing to be for guns. pic.twitter.com/4ym80QLDaX
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) April 6, 2022
Officers reportedly found shipping items and labels in one of their apartments, prosecutors said in a Sunday filing.
“This is consistent with the prior pattern and practice of providing federal law enforcement agents with gifts and items of value, and suggests that Taherzadeh and/or Ali shipped the package to the USSS Uniformed Division Officer in an attempt to corruptly enlist him in secreting evidence,” the filing said.
Investigators are also looking into the possibility that the accused are tied to Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Iran’s Quds force, and/or Pakistani intelligence, CBS News reported.
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