A second man has admitted to impersonating a Department of Homeland Security officer in Washington, DC to run a series of elaborate schemes to live a luxurious lifestyle.
District of Columbia resident Haider Ali, 36, admitted this week to charges stemming from a scheme in which he pretended to be a federal law enforcement officer for a range of purposes, the Department of Justice announced.
The impersonation scheme allowed Ali to maintain a series of apartments in which he then failed to pay rent, officials said.
He also admitted carrying out a bank fraud scheme in which he obtained more than $1 million and used his false law enforcement credentials to pressure individuals recruited to the scam.
Prosecutors said that Ali and Arian Taherzadeh, 40, also of Washington, DC, operated a business called United States Special Police LLC, which was described as a private law enforcement, investigative, and protective service based in Washington.
While running that business, the pair represented themselves to law enforcement as investigators or special agents who were a part of Homeland Security, despite having no affiliation with the US government, nor having done any business with federal or DC governments.
Ali also falsely claimed he was a member of the US Secret Service, making several lofty allegations, including that he participated in the capture of the wife of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, that his family had a royal bloodline, and that he had…
