DC judge wants deeper probe of possible foreign ties for men who allegedly impersonated federal agents

A U.S. District Court docket decide stated he wanted extra data earlier than making a choice on federal prosecutors’ pretrial detention request on Friday for each males who’re charged with impersonating a federal officer.

Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, had been each arrested on Wednesday at a luxurious house within the Navy Yard space of Washington, D.C. after the Federal Bureau of Investigations executed a search warrant with the help of a number of different authorities businesses.

Justice of the Peace Decide Michael Harvey stated throughout a detention listening to on Friday that he wants extra details about Ali’s journey historical past to Pakistan and Iran, extra particulars about “United Particular Police LLC,” which Taherzadeh allegedly controls, in addition to detailed details about Taherzadeh’s historical past as a deputized particular police officer with the Metropolitan Police Division in Washington, D.C.

Prosecutors say that sooner or later, Taherzadeh was a deputized police officer, however stated that the designation got here with very restricted skills.

Harvey stated that this case is “difficult,” including he hasn’t seen one related earlier than.

WASHINGTON D.C. MEN WHO ALLEGEDLY POSED AS FEDERAL AGENTS HAD STOCKPILE OF WEAPONS, NEW FILING SHOWS

The detention listening to will proceed on Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Prosecutors requested that the 2 males be detained previous to their trial, arguing that Ali is a flight threat and Taherzdeh might try to impede justice.

Within the authorities’s movement for detention, prosecutors say that the boys’s impersonation scheme was “sufficiently life like to persuade different authorities staff, together with regulation enforcement brokers, of their false identities.”

Prosecutors allege that the people “compromised” Secret Service personnel who’ve entry to the White Home “by lavishing items upon them, together with rent-free dwelling.”

Throughout the Friday detention listening to, authorities prosecutors stated that this can be a “very critical” case.

“This isn’t a case of somebody guarding your native Starbucks, the quantity of kit they’d,” the prosecutor stated. “This isn’t simply two folks dressing up for Halloween your honor, that is very critical.”

The 2 males withstand three years in jail in addition to a advantageous of as much as $250,000 if convicted.

The 2 males are accused of impersonating Division of Homeland Safety staff and gave U.S. Secret Service brokers items, together with iPhones, flats, and televisions, based on officers.

In a single occasion, Taherzadeh offered a Secret Service agent with one rent-free three-bedroom house, valued at $48,240. The Secret Service agent stayed on the house from February 2021 to January 2022, based on prosecutors.

On Wednesday, federal regulation enforcement officers recovered a number of firearms in addition to ammunition whereas executing a search warrant. In response to a court docket submitting by federal prosecutors on Wednesday morning, “quite a few digital units” had been additionally discovered, together with a “important” quantity of surveillance gear, 30 laborious drives, a machine that creates and applications Private Identification Verification playing cards, and clean playing cards with chips.

Passports belonging to Ali had been additionally recovered, and present two visas from Iran. Prosecutors say that the primary visa licensed journey to Iran from July 31, 2019 by way of October 28, 2019, and the second from October 28, 2019 by way of January 25, 2020. 

The passports additionally comprise visas from Pakistan.

DC MEN WHO ALLEGEDLY POSED AS FEDERAL AGENTS UNDER SCRUTINY FOR POSSIBLE FOREIGN TIES

Federal prosecutors additionally allege that Ali advised two witnesses that he has some kind of reference to the Pakistani Intelligence Service, the Inter-Providers Intelligence. 

Ali allegedly made a number of journeys to Doha, Qatar since 2019, based on prosecutors.

Taherzadeh and Ali’s alleged impersonation of Division of Homeland Safety staff started to unravel when a United States Postal Inspector arrived at their house advanced to research an alleged assault which concerned a United States Postal Service provider, based on prosecutors.

The case was then handed to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

In response to a court docket submitting, the boys recognized themselves as federal authorities staff to the inspector, and residents on the house advanced stated that they consider the 2 males had entry to their private data. 

One witness, who’s a member of the Secret Service, stated that Taherzadeh had entry to “all flooring of the house,” together with some restricted areas. The witness says that Taherzadeh was capable of get this entry by talking with the house advanced’s administration and figuring out himself as a federal agent.

Fox Information has confirmed that of the 4 Secret Service brokers suspended in reference to the investigation, two of them labored for the uniformed division, and one of many brokers’ duties was within the neighborhood of the residence of Vice President Harris, however not on her individual element.

A separate Secret Service agent who’s now suspended was assigned to the Presidential Protecting Division of First woman Jill Biden, and sources inform Fox Information that it is doable this agent crammed in for brokers near President Biden at occasions however was not on the president’s common safety element.

Fox Information’ David Spunt contributed to this report