A man impersonating an American security agent admitted having a relationship with Pakistani intelligence

A federal prosecutor told a judge on Thursday that one of two people arrested in Washington for impersonating federal security officials and recruiting people to gain access to President Joe Biden’s security service has admitted links to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, according to the agency. The French press.

Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice, Joshua Rothstein, asked the judge not to release Aryan Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, who were arrested Wednesday for impersonating investigators at the Department of Homeland Security.

The two men are also accused of providing lucrative services to members of the Secret Service, including a member of US First Lady Jill Biden’s security team.

Rothstein told the court that in 2019, months before the two men began recruiting security professionals in an apartment building in Washington, Ali traveled to Pakistan, Turkey and Iran.

In addition, Rothstein explained, “Ali told witnesses that he had ties to the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI.”

The Ministry of Justice treats the case as a criminal case and not a case that threatens national security, but the Secret Service has suspended four of its employees because of their relationship with the two suspects.

“All employees involved in this case have been placed on administrative leave and denied access to Secret Service facilities, equipment and systems,” the agency said in a statement.

According to the court case, Tahirzadeh and Ali, both US citizens, were residing in an apartment building in Washington where many federal security personnel reside.

They convinced some of those employees that they were Homeland Security investigators, and offered documents and clothes to prove the allegations.

The two men were initially charged with impersonating an American officer, which carries a sentence of up to three years in prison.

But Rothstein told the court the charge could be expanded to conspiracy, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

The motives of the two men are not yet clear, but at one point they recruited a third person to work with them, and asked him to “conduct a search for a person who provides support to the Ministry of Defense and Intelligence services.”

As for Taherzadeh, he provided many employees of the Secret Service and Internal Security with free housing units of up to four thousand dollars per month, according to the lawsuit.

He also gave them iPhones, surveillance systems, a television set and law enforcement equipment, according to the lawsuit.

Taherzadeh gave a $2,000 assault rifle to a Secret Service agent who was on Jill Biden’s team and provided services to the agent’s wife, including his car loan.

The lawsuit states that Taherzadeh and Ali apparently owned many apartments in the apartment complex, and that Taherzadeh had access to the building’s security system.

Like many law enforcement officers, the two men drove huge black GMC four-wheel drive cars with emergency lights.

Carrying pistols, such as those used by federal law enforcement, Taherzadeh showed others that he had safe access to what appeared to be Homeland Security computer systems.

At their first court appearance, the public prosecutor sought to prevent them from being granted parole.

But neither of them had full legal representation, so the judge decided to defer the decision to a second hearing, Friday.