Man arrested by FBI for impersonating federal agents had visas to Pakistan, Iran, says Prosecuter
Apr 08, 2022
Washington [US], April 8 : One of the men who was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for impersonating federal agents had visas to Pakistan and Iran, according to prosecutor Josh Rothstein.
Notably, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested two men in Washington DC on Wednesday for allegedly impersonating Department of Homeland Security agents for more than two years and while taking advantage of the post, the men gave expensive gifts to federal agents in DC. The men were identified as Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali.
Rothstein said Taherzadeh had deleted a Facebook page and that Ali had multiple Pakistani visas and claimed to be connected to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, reported CNN News.
According to Rothstein, Ali travelled to Doha, the capital of Qatar, several times in 2019 and had two Iranian visas, one showing an entry into Iran, and three Pakistani visas. Both men are US citizens, Rothstein said.
A detention hearing is set for Friday afternoon, reported the news channel.
Deceptively, the two men who impersonated as the Department of Homeland Security agents provided the federal agents in DC with expensive apartments and offered them to purchase a weapon for a Secret Service agent assigned to first lady Jill Biden, according to an affidavit, reported CNN News.
Both of them gave "rent-free apartments" costing more than USD 40,000 annually each to a DHS employee and US secret service members.
The details were provided in an affidavit. According to the document, 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 USD 40,200.
The Secret Service said in a statement to CNN, "The Secret Service has worked and continues to work with its law enforcement partners on this ongoing investigation. All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems. The Secret Service adheres to the highest levels of professional standards and conduct and will remain in active coordination with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security."
Both the men, while impersonating as the federal agents, obtained handgnuns, assault rifles and other items.
