Prosecutor: Man accused of impersonating a federal agent discussed ties to Pakistani intelligence

• Two men made their first court appearance on charges they impersonated federal law enforcement.
• One of the men claimed to have ties to Pakistani intelligence, a prosecutor said in court.

They offered access to a black GMC SUV, provided rent-free apartments, gave away iPhones, a drone, and other items as gifts — all in a two-year effort to grow closer to federal law enforcement officials.

But a day after the FBI arrested Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali, 35, on charges they impersonated federal law enforcement officials, a prosecutor revealed a new — albeit unverified — detail in court Thursday: Ali, 35, discussed having ties to the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence service.

"He made claims to — we haven't verified those claims — but Mr. Ali made claims to witnesses that he has ties to ISI, which is the Pakistani intelligence service," said Joshua Rothstein, a federal prosecutor in Washington, DC.

Rothstein's comments came as Ali and Taherzadeh made their initial court appearances before a federal magistrate judge in Washington, DC. In the hearing before Magistrate Judge Michale Harvey, Rothstein underscored Ali's claimed connections to Pakistani intelligence to argue that he posed a flight risk and should be held behind bars ahead of trial.

Rothstein added that Ali once had a Pakistani visa and two Iranian visas, he suggested that an additional charge looms on the horizon.

"This is going to be likely charged as a conspiracy," Rothstein said,

Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey set a detention hearing for Friday afternoon. During the hearing, Ali asked for the court to appoint a public defender to represent him "because I don't have any money."

The FBI on Wednesday arrested Taherzadeh, 40, and Ali on charges they impersonated federal law enforcement officers. In court documents, an FBI agent said Taherzadeh and Ali began pretending to be Department of Homeland Security officials as early as February 2020 and used their false personas to ingratiate themselves with the federal law enforcement and defense community.

Taherzadeh gave the Secret Service agents and a Department of Homeland Security official access to what he represented as "official government vehicles." He also provided them with rent-free apartments — each with annual rents topping $40,000 — surveillance systems, and a drone, among other items, according to an FBI agent's sworn affidavit.

For a Secret Service agent assigned to First Lady Jill Biden's detail, Taherzadeh offered to buy a $2,000 assault rifle, the affidavit states.

As of April 4, four members of the Secret Service were placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

In the course of their alleged conduct, Taherzadeh and Ali recruited someone to be an "employee of DHS," according to the court records. As part of the hiring process, they required that individual to be shot with an Airsoft rifle to evaluate the recruit's pain tolerance, the affidavit states.

The court papers paint a fast-moving investigation that began in mid-March 2022, when a US postal inspector arrived at a Washington, DC, apartment complex in response to an alleged assault on a letter carrier. At the complex, residents identified Taherzadeh and Ali as possible witnesses and said the two represented themselves as special agents with the Department of Homeland Security. Residents also said that Taherzadeh and Ali used several apartments and had a black GMC SUV with emergency lights hat they described as an "official DHS vehicle."

In a search of apartments Taherzadeh and Ali controlled, FBI agents found firearms and components of disassembled firearms, along with a ballistic vest, body armor, a gas mask, and tactical breaching equipment, Rothstein said Thursday. In a building where many members of the law enforcement and defense community live, Rothstein added, agents found a binder with a list of every resident.

In their interview with the postal service inspector, Taherzadeh and Ali both identified themselves as "special police" officers in undercover gang-related investigations and inquiries related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

In the course of the investigation, the postal service inspector learned about Taherzadeh and Ali's contacts with government officials and the gifts they provided to them, including access to the GMC SUV. The inspector relayed the information to the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog office, which then referred the matter to the FBI.

The Justice Department announced the charges against Taherzadeh and Ali shortly after FBI agents were seen descending on an apartment complex in the Navy Yard neighborhood in southeast Washington, DC. In response to images and videos posted on social media, the FBI said it was conducting "court authorized law enforcement activity" in the area.