As the case develops against two men accused of impersonating federal agents, a Virginia man who once worked for one of the suspects is watching closely.
Moses Kamai, of Bristow, hopes this case may help him and his attorneys collect on more than $290,000, which a judge ordered Arian Taherzadeh to pay him.
“He’s not made good on any payments. So that shows, I think, in my mind, a little bit about his character,” Kamai told WTOP.
Taherzadeh was arrested last week, along with Haider Ali, and accused of impersonating a federal officer. Both Taherzadeh and Ali are also accused of giving expensive gifts — including free apartment stays — to actual federal officers, including Secret Service agents.
Court proceedings revealed that the rents for some of those apartments were never paid by Taherzadeh or his current company, United States Special Police (USSP), under which the properties were leased.
Kamai said he worked for another business that belonged to Taherzadeh before he started USSP. It was called AET Holdings, which according to the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs’ website, has had its license revoked.
Kamai served as a project director at AET Holdings, which he said was a business management and technology company, for three months, beginning in December 2015 until he was let go.
During that time, Kamai said Taherzadeh did not pay him, and he was also left to foot the bill for a business trip to Hawaii.
Because the company was a startup, Kamai said he was understanding about his first paychecks not coming on time, but his concern grew after the trip, during which he said he was left personally paying for the airfare and even the hotel room. That’s because Kamai said the corporate card Taherzadeh used to book the room did not go through.
Court documents from the lawsuit Kamai brought against Taherzadeh state the same.
In 2016, Kamai filed a suit against Taherzadeh in D.C. Superior Court and won. But Kamai said he had not received any payment. He has hired a collections attorney but attempts to recover the money have been unsuccessful.
“He’s been a slippery eel to try to serve papers on,” Kamai said.
When Taherzadeh was able to be served, collections attorney Thomas Mauro said he never showed up to court, and they could never identify any assets that could be used to pay Kamai.
“I think we went after him for probably two years with no success,” Mauro said.
After Kamai came to him, Mauro said a second client, 23 I, INC, also hired him to assist in their attempts to collect from Taherzadeh.
According to court documents in that case, they’re seeking more than $60,000 in rent and damages from another of Taherzadeh’s companies, AET Solutions Inc. The apartment building in this instance, 28 K St. SE in D.C., was not the apartment complex Taherzadeh was staying in when he was arrested.
WTOP reached out to 23 I, INC for comment.
In court documents, the rental company said Taherzadeh claimed he made $70,000 a month leading his company, and he could afford the almost $6,000 rent payment for a penthouse apartment. But he never paid.
“It seems to me that he’s the guy who goes, you know, from one fraud to the next, hoping that somehow he’s able to stay one step ahead of his creditors,” Mauro said.
Kamai said Taherzadeh could be persuasive. He remembers a meeting with a prospective client that Taherzadeh conducted that had Kamai thinking, “Wow, that’s a pretty good sales pitch.”
Mauro said Taherzadeh also appeared persuasive enough to convince leasing offices that he could cover the rent for luxury apartments.
“It’s amazing how easy it is for people who are, you know, articulate and talk confidently, to convince other people that they should basically lend him money, or give him things,” Mauro said.
Taherzadeh and Ali were released ahead of trial, and they are staying at the homes of their fathers in Virginia.
WTOP spoke with Taherzadeh’s father, Masoud Taherzadeh, but he declined to comment on the case or connect a reporter with his son.
Both Taherzadeh and Ali have been represented in court proceedings by public defenders.
Kamai said what surprised him about the arrest of his former boss is the claim by federal prosecutors that he was able to gain the trust of several federal agents.
“That’s a lot of people to do under the same story,” Kamai said.
Both Kamai and Mauro hope the criminal trial will give them access to new information about Taherzadeh that will help them eventually collect the money that is owed.
