Two men charged with impersonating Secret Service agents convinced other members of the elite group with fake websites, elaborate ID cards and carefully-researched weapons, it has emerged.
Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Sher-Ali, 36 - both U.S. citizens - began in February 2020 to claim they were members of the Secret Service.
The pair lived in a luxury Washington D.C. apartment building, The Crossing, rent free - having convinced the management they worked for the government. They also persuaded the managers to give them access to the residential records and video logs.
The building is home to many federal agents and political aides, who get discounted rates.
The pair, both of whom had Pakistani and Iranian visas in their passports, plus a stash of weapons in their apartments, were arrested on Wednesday, and arraigned on Thursday. They will be back in court on Friday.
On Thursday it emerged they had set up fake websites, to give the impression of logging on to a federal site.
Haider Sher-Ali, 36, (left) and Arian Taherzadeh, 40, (right) were arrested Wednesday for impersonating federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security claiming to be involved in an investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack
Arian Taherzadeh, 40, left and right, was one of two men arrested Wednesday for allegedly impersonating Department of Homeland Security officers to infiltrate the Secret Service. He and Haider Ali, 36, allegedly showered the Secret Service officers with gifts
One uniformed Secret Service agent assigned to protect the White House Complex told The Washington Post they saw Taherzadeh use a Private Identity Verification card to access a laptop labeled with a DHS symbol.
A federal privacy notice appeared when Taherzadeh went to log in.
It was unclear whether the website was an elaborate fake, or if he was using someone else's credentials.
Another witness, the agent on the first lady's detail, said that Taherzadeh had displayed a type of Glock pistol just as their own agency was beginning to equip people with that weapon, according to court documents.
In September 2019 it was widely reported that the Secret Service was replacing its Sig P229s with Glock G19 Gen 5 MOS.
Their motive for pretending to be Secret Service agents remains unclear. Both men had a history of financial problems and problematic business dealings.
It also remains unknown who was funding their lavish lifestyle, and paying for a slew of gifts they doled out to other residents of the exclusive building - among them rent-free apartments that would cost $40,000 a year; iPhones; surveillance systems; a drone; a flat-screen TV and a generator.
The pair showed off their new Glocks, convincing others that they were legitimate federal agents. In September 2019 it was widely reported that the Secret Service was replacing its Sig P229s with Glock G19 Gen 5 MOS
Four members of Jill Biden's security detail have been placed on leave pending an investigation into their friendship with the pair.
Questions were being asked as to why the doling out of such gifts did not ring alarm bells among the supposedly elite agents.
Taherzadeh and Ali are said in the affidavit to have successfully ingratiated themselves with Secret Service agents, at least two of whom were reportedly given rent-free a penthouse and multiple-bedroom luxury apartments.
A former representative of Crossing DC who worked at the building since the start of Taherzadeh's lease confirmed that none of the units were being paid for at any time.
When asked why they were not paying rent on the units, the individual responded with one word: 'Government'.
Potential crimes, according to a magistrate judge on Thursday, involves possession and use of a firearm and the destruction of potential evidence after learning an investigation was underway.
Among the firearms being kept in the unit occupied by Taherzadeh, sources claim, were a Glock 19 .9mm with high capacity magazines, a fully automatic suppressed M4-style rifle, an AR pistol and a Sig Sauer handgun.
He also showed some residents training weapons, including the airsoft gun used to 'test' so-called 'recruits' on their reaction and pain tolerance.
The gun was fired at the 'new recruits' to see if they were 'tough' enough.
Among other items found was a binder with information on residents in Crossing DC, which includes many real federal agents, those working for the White House and congressional aides and advisors.
Agents with the FBI, NCIS and USPIS swarmed several floors and units of a luxury apartment building in southeast Washington, D.C.
Taherzadeh (right) and Ali (not pictured) spent a year-and-a-half of residency hanging out with residents and cozying up to people working for government – including at lest four Secret Service agents. Pictured: Ali at Crossing DC's rooftop pool with other residents and guests
One of the Secret Service agents accused of getting gifts from Taherzdeh and Ali worked on First Lady Jill Biden's security detail, according to the affidavit. That agent, as well as three others, have been placed on leave as an investigation continues. Pictured: First Lady Jill Biden speaks during a commissioning ceremony on April 2
During their time living at the building, in the Navy Yard neighborhood of D.C., Ali and Taherzadeh spent months wining and dining government workers and contractors, cooking them filet mignon and salmon and inviting them over for beers and hookah in order to work their way into the inner circle.
Management office staff for Crossing DC did not respond to
