US: 2 posed as agents, gave gifts to Secret Service officers

By MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged two men they say were posing as federal agents, giving free apartments and other gifts to U.S. Secret Service agents, including one who worked on the first lady’s security detail. Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36, were taken into custody as more than a dozen FBI agents charged into a luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington on Wednesday evening. Prosecutors allege Taherzadeh and Ali had falsely claimed to work for the Department of Homeland Security. Court documents allege Taherzadeh provided Secret Service officers and agents with rent-free apartments — including a penthouse worth over $40,000 a year — along with iPhones, surveillance systems and other gifts.