Several prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges against two men suspected of posing as federal agents in order to give free apartments and other gifts to agents of the Secret Service, including one assigned to the first lady’s security detail.
On Wednesday evening, more than a dozen FBI agents invaded a luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington and took the two men, Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36, into custody.
Prosecutors claim Taherzadeh and Ali falsely claimed to work for Homeland Security and be part of a task force investigating gang violence in connection with the Jan. 6 protests at the U.S. Capitol. They allege the two posed as law enforcement officers to integrate with actual federal agents.
According to AP News, the two are alleged to have posed as law enforcement officers to integrate with federal agents. Taherzadeh is accused of providing Secret Service agents and officers. with rent-free apartments along with iPhones, gun cases, and other policing tools, the court documents read.
Prosecutors claim he also offered them to use a black GMC SUV he claimed was an “official government vehicle.” During one instance, Taherzadeh offered to buy an assault rifle for a Secret Service agent protecting the first lady for $2,000, according to prosecutors.
According to prosecutors, four Secret Service agents were placed on leave this week in connection with the investigation. During the investigation, the US postal service began looking into an attack on a mail carrier at the apartment building.
Two men identified themselves as members of the phony Homeland Security unit that called itself the US Special Police Investigation Unit.
According to prosecutors, the men had also put up surveillance in the building and told residents that any phone they had could be accessed at any time.
Investigators also heard that residents believed the men could access their personal information. The court date for Taherzadeh and Ali is Thursday.
There was no immediate indication that their attorneys could comment on the allegations. Authorities have not disclosed what purpose the men were attempting to accomplish by posing as law enforcement officers or by providing gifts. The investigation continues, according to prosecutors.