On Wednesday afternoon, FBI agents were seen entering an apartment building near Washington’s Navy Yard. The agents were conducting a court-ordered search at that address, according to an FBI official. The FBI raid is linked to the arrest of two individuals accused of impersonating Department of Homeland Security officials for more than two years, according to a source familiar with the incident.
According to an affidavit, two men were arrested in Washington, DC, on Wednesday for allegedly impersonating Department of Homeland Security agents for more than two years, giving expensive gifts to federal agents in DC, providing them with apartments, and offering to buy a weapon for a Secret Service agent assigned to first lady Jill Biden.
According to the affidavit, Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali allegedly gave “rent-free apartments” worth more than $40,000 per year to a DHS employee and members of the US Secret Service while impersonating federal agents.
Four Secret Service agents have been placed on Administrative Service leave pending investigations as of Monday.
The affidavit discloses large presents given to federal agents by the two defendants.
According to the document, Taherzadeh allegedly provided a “rent-free penthouse residence” for one year at a cost of roughly $40,200 to a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the White House complex.
According to the affidavit, Taherzadeh allegedly offered to buy a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent on the first lady’s security detail.
It was unclear whether the agent assigned to the first lady’s detail or the agent assigned to the White House compound were among the four who were placed on leave.
“The Secret Service has worked, and continues to work, with its law enforcement partners on this ongoing investigation,” the Secret Service said in a statement to CNN. All Secret Service personnel engaged in this case have been placed on administrative leave and are unable to access Secret Service buildings, equipment, or systems. The Secret Service upholds the highest professional standards and ethics, and it will continue to work closely with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
When contacted for comment, the Department of Homeland Security referred CNN to the Secret Service.
To impersonate federal agents, Taherzadeh and Ali allegedly obtained assault rifles, handguns, and other items.
DHS’s Security Investigations division.
On Wednesday afternoon, FBI agents were seen entering an apartment building near Washington’s Navy Yard. The agents were conducting a court-authorized search at that site, according to an FBI spokesperson. According to a source acquainted with the matter, the FBI raid is connected to the two men’s arrest.

According to court filings, Taherzadeh and Ali’s alleged scheme was discovered when a US Postal Inspector began investigating an alleged assault on a USPS letter carrier in an apartment complex where the two men allegedly had many homes.
According to the documents, the inspector examined the guys as prospective witnesses to the assault, and they identified themselves as detectives with the US Special Police, who were looking into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as gang activity.
During the course of the investigation, the inspector discovered that the two men had provided gifts to USSS members. According to the affidavit, the inspector reported the information to the DHS Office of Inspector General, who subsequently alerted the FBI.
Attorneys representing the two men have not been identified by CNN. They are being held in custody and will be arraigned before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey on Thursday in US District Court in Washington, DC.