Hearing for DHS impersonators paused as more questions and evidence of massive fraud surface
WASHINGTON - On Friday, Magistrate Judge Michael G. Harvey ordered the detention hearing for two suspects charged with impersonating a federal officer to be continued on Monday at 3:30 p.m.
The argument over whether 40-year-old Arian Taherzadeh and 35-year-old Haider Ali should be held behind bars until a possible trial went on for at least an hour.
Did they ever ask for anything with the gifts they gave? Where did the money come from?
These are questions the federal judge asked but could not get clear answers to on Friday.
Federal investigators claim Taherzadeh and Ali carried out an elaborate scheme – operating out of a posh Southeast D.C. apartment building many government employees also reside in – in order to "infiltrate" or "integrate" themselves with federal officers. This allegedly included providing gifts like iPhones and a TV – even allowing two Secret Service officers to stay in apartments rent-free for about a year.
A total of four U.S. Secret Service agents have been suspended since the FBI raided the Navy Yard-area apartment building on Wednesday and arrested both suspects. Investigators said one of the four agents worked on a White House detail while another agent worked on First Lady Jill Biden's detail.
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The FBI said Taherzadeh and Ali identified themselves as special officers working with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate gangs and the January 6th Insurrection at the Capitol.
"Law enforcement’s investigation has established that Penthouse 5 was maintained and controlled by Taherzadeh and Ali, and currently used for the operation of "U.S. Special Police LLC" (USSP), Taherzadeh’ s company," court documents read.
New court documents released on Friday revealed the two gained access to units PH5, 708, 608, 509, and 1361 at Crossing D.C. – the luxury apartment building located at 949 First Street Southeast.
The new documents also included photos of the items confiscated to allegedly carry out their fake personas. The images showed two firearms, firearm components, ammunition, surveillance equipment, and police tactical gear. Five units and three vehicles were searched.
It appears the two also duped building management and have a significant court history of possible fraud.
A complaint filed in D.C. Superior Court in July 2021 said Congressional Square Owner LLC, the landlord of 949 First St. SE, leased five units to a company, "upon information and belief tenant is a private law enforcement, investigative, and protective services agency with corporate headquarters located at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20037." The units listed are the same apartments the FBI said Taherzadeh and Ali were found to be in possession of.
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The complaint said rent on the units had not been paid. A judge ruled in favor of the landlord on January 20, 2022, and ordered United States Special Police, the company Taherzadeh was alleged to have owned, to pay the landlord back $222,869.88 in damages, among other fees.
Another case showed Taherzadeh was sued for not paying rent on a penthouse unit leased at 28 K Street Southeast in 2018. Court documents say the lease was taken-out by Taherzadeh’s company, AET Solutions and that a principal amount of nearly $64,000 is still owed.
Mauro Law Offices, which sued Taherzadeh according to court documents, also sued in another case where a man hired to work at AET Solutions claimed he had not been paid.
In a bizarre twist, it also appears Ali also sued Taherzadeh, claiming fraud. A filing in D.C. Superior Court from 2016 shows Ali had claimed he was hired by Taherzadeh to work as Chief Operating Officer at AET Solutions, Inc. but was never paid. Ali also claimed to have loaned Taherzadeh a million dollars that was never returned either.
In addition to the other evidence that was uncovered, court documents also included photographs of Ali’s visas. This portion of the Detention Memo read:
Ali’s expired passport contained several visas authorizing foreign travel. For instance, this
passport contained two visas authorizing travel from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The first visa
that allowed entry July 31, 2019 through October 28, 2019 and second visa that allowed entry
from October 28, 2019 through January 25, 2020. The Government has identified at least four
entry/exit stamps from Mashhad International Airport in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran.
In addition, the Ali’s passport contained two thirty-day visas from Pakistan and one visa
for travel to Egypt.
The U.S. Attorney said Ali allegedly told at least one person that he has connections to a Pakistani intelligence service known as Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI. That claim is still being investigated.
Taherzadeh told investigators Ali funded their "day-to-day" operations, according to the court documents filed Friday. Investigators said Taherzadeh admitted to deleting social media evidence after learning of a possible investigation.
Both were said to be in illegal possession of firearms, although there did not appear to be evidence that Ali was seen in possession of one.
Officials said the two had both applied for D.C. Concealed Carry Permits and were rejected. The U.S. Attorney said Taherzadeh applied for his concealed carry permit in 2020, around the time the two were believed to have begun their alleged scheme.
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Court documents say Taherzadeh is not permitted to possess a firearm due to a prior domestic violence conviction case in Arlington, Virginia that involved his wife. Ali was said to have been rejected by D.C. Police for "similar reasons."
The U.S. Attorney’s Office called the two suspects a danger to the community, arguing they should be held behind bars, and that Ali is a flight risk.