2 men posed as federal agents for 2 years, gave gifts to Secret Service officers

Two men have been taken into custody for posing as federal agents for more than two years, giving expensive gifts to US Secret Service agents, including one assigned to first lady Jill Biden. 

The men, identified as 40-year-old Arian Taherzadeh and 36-year-old Haider Ali, are accused of falsely claiming to work for the Department of Homeland Security and work on a special task force investigating the violence connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. 

The duo reportedly provided “rent-free apartments”— including a penthouse worth over $40,000 a year — each to a DHS employee and members of the US Secret Service, all while posing as federal agents

Taherzadeh also gifted them expensive gifts such as iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, flat screen television, a generator, gun case and other policing tools.

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In one instance, the accused offered to purchase a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent who is assigned to protect Jill Biden.

The alleged ruse was uncovered when the US Postal Inspection Service began investigating an assault on a mail carrier at their luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington and the men identified themselves as being part of a phony Homeland Security unit they called the US Special Police Investigation Unit.

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On Wednesday evening, FBI agents charged into the apartment and took them into custody. 

Four Secret Service employees have been placed on leave as part of the investigation.

“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,” the Secret Service said in a statement to CNN.

It wasn’t clear if the agent assigned to the first lady has been placed on leave.