Agents of the FBI swooped in to arrest two men for “impersonating Department of Homeland Security agents.” They have been getting away with “giving expensive gifts to federal agents in D.C.” for over two years. What they got in return isn’t clear.
FBI raids free apartments
FBI agents arrested Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali in Washington. They were such nice guys they provided Secret Service and DHS guys friendly help by “providing them apartments.” In one case, they offered “to purchase a weapon for a Secret Service agent assigned to first lady Jill Biden.”
The bureau alleges the “rent-free apartments” cost “more than $40,000 annually each.” They had the agents convinced they were legit, by “impersonating federal agents.” Now, that’s the way to buy influence!
Word leaked to the press that, “four Secret Service agents were placed on administrative leave pending investigations.” An affidavit filed in the case provides details of the allegedly “substantial gifts.”
The FBI affidavit spells out that “Taherzadeh allegedly provided a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the White House complex a ‘rent-free penthouse apartment‘ for one year at a cost of about $40,200.” Not just any apartment, the whole top of the building. That was sure to impress the hookers.
When one Secret Service agent detailed to keep an eye on Jill Biden came across an assault rifle he couldn’t afford on his own, Taherzadeh was all set to shell out $2,000 to buy it for him. The FBI didn’t like that because the happy benefactor wasn’t who he said he was. Nobody’s answering the obvious question of whether “the agent on the first lady’s detail or the agent assigned to the White House complex were among the four placed on leave.”
All they are saying is that everyone “involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems.”
Regular arms dealers
It seems that Taherzadeh and Ali looked the part, allegedly obtaining “assault rifles, handguns and other items to pose as federal agents.” The affidavit filed by the FBI alleges Taherzadeh “gave federal agents gifts including iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, a flat screen television, a case for storing an assault rifle, a generator, and law enforcement paraphernalia.”
It’s okay, they assured. All the gear was supposed to be property of DHS. What they didn’t say is the phones are probably tapped and the TV could be watching them back, videoing all the penthouse orgies for blackmail to be used when they want to infiltrate the White House later.
At one point, Taherzadeh allegedly “conned an individual into researching a government contractor for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community” he said it was part of a “recruiting process” for the Homeland Security Investigations branch of DHS.
FBI agents raided “an apartment building in Washington’s Navy Yard Wednesday afternoon,” apparently connected to the case. All they told reporters is “the agents were conducting a court-authorized search at that location.”
The whole thing came unraveled when a U.S. Postal Inspector “started investigating an alleged assault of a USPS letter carrier in an apartment complex where the two men allegedly had multiple units.”
When the inspector interviewed the “potential witnesses of the assault,” they claimed to be “investigators with the U.S. Special Police investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as well as gang activity.” They lied and the FBI was brought in when the postal inspector realized what could be going on. The suspects are currently being detained and will be arraigned Thursday in the U.S. District Court.