Two men in Washington, DC were arrested by FBI agents Wednesday for posing as federal agents, but these two weren’t acting out some wannabe cop fantasy or trying to impress a woman, the Associated Press reports.
Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36 were arrested at a luxury apartment building in Southeast DC. Prosecutors say the two men tried to integrate into groups of federal law enforcement officers by providing access to luxury vehicles and a penthouse apartment, which they would provide to real federal agents at no cost.
In one case, the pair promised to buy a federal agent a $2,000 assault weapon. For others, they bought iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, flat screen television, a generator, gun case and other policing tools.
Their intent was to integrate into groups of federal law enforcement, although prosecutors did not know–or did not disclose in court documents–the motivation for the effort, nor would they say who was financing the effort.
Law enforcement became aware of the two men’s scheme when they approached a US Postal Inspector at the scene of an attack on a postal worker and claimed to work for a non-existent agency: U.S. Special Police Investigation Unit of the Department of Homeland Security.