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FBI Indictment of IRI VEVAK AgentsIndicted
________
Kidnapers
Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani – VEVAK Commander
Mahmoud Khazein – VEVAK IRI Agent
Kiya Sadeghi - VEVAK IRI Agent
Omid Noori - VEVAK IRI AgentNot Indicted Yet
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Financial Services for Kidnap
Niloufar Bahadorifar – Financial and Services Facilitator*
Department of JusticeOffice of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Iranian Intelligence Officials Indicted on Kidnapping Conspiracy ChargesIranian Intelligence Services Allegedly Plotted to Kidnap a U.S. Journalist and Human Rights Activist from New York City for Rendition to IranA New York federal court unsealed an indictment today charging four Iranian nationals with conspiracies related to kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering. A co-conspirator and California resident, also of Iran, faces additional structuring charges.
According to court documents, Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, aka Vezerat Salimi and Haj Ali, 50; Mahmoud Khazein, 42; Kiya Sadeghi, 35; and Omid Noori, 45, all of Iran, conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn journalist, author and human rights activist for mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring about changes to the regime’s laws and practices. Niloufar Bahadorifar, aka Nellie Bahadorifar, 46, originally of Iran and currently residing in California, is alleged to have provided financial services that supported the plot.
“Every person in the United States must be free from harassment, threats and physical harm by foreign powers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Through this indictment, we bring to light one such pernicious plot to harm an American citizen who was exercising their First Amendment rights, and we commit ourselves to bring the defendants to justice.”
“As alleged, four of the defendants monitored and planned to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who has been critical of the regime’s autocracy, and to forcibly take their intended victim to Iran, where the victim’s fate would have been uncertain at best,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York. “Among this country’s most cherished freedoms is the right to speak one’s mind without fear of government reprisal. A U.S. citizen living in the United States must be able to advocate for human rights without being targeted by foreign intelligence operatives. Thanks to the FBI’s exposure of their alleged scheme, these defendants have failed to silence criticism by forcible abduction.”
“As alleged in this indictment, the government of Iran directed a number of state actors to plot to kidnap a U.S.-based journalist and American citizen, and to conduct surveillance on U.S. soil - all with the intention to lure our citizen back to Iran as retaliation for their freedom of expression,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “We will use all the tools at our disposal to aggressively investigate foreign activities by operatives who conspire to kidnap a U.S. citizen just because the government of Iran didn’t approve of the victim’s criticism of the regime.”
According to the indictment, Farahani is an Iranian intelligence official who resides in Iran. Khazein, Sadeghi and Noori are Iranian intelligence assets who also reside in Iran and work under Farahani. Since at least June 2020, Farahani and his intelligence network have plotted to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin (Victim-1) from within the United States in furtherance of the government of Iran’s efforts to silence Victim-1’s criticisms of the regime. Victim-1 is an author and journalist who has publicized the government of Iran’s human rights abuses.
Prior to the kidnapping plot, the government of Iran attempted to lure Victim-1 to a third country in order to capture Victim-1 for rendition to Iran. In approximately 2018, Iranian government officials attempted to induce relatives of Victim-1, who reside in Iran, to invite the victim to travel to a third country for the apparent purpose of having Victim-1 arrested or detained and transported to Iran for imprisonment. Victim-1’s relatives did not accept the offer. An electronic device used by Farahani contains, among other things, a photo of Victim-1 alongside photos of two other individuals, both of whom were lured from third countries and captured by Iranian intelligence, with one later executed and the other imprisoned in Iran, and a caption in Farsi that reads: “gradually the gathering gets bigger... are you coming, or should we come for you?”
On multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021, as part of the plot to kidnap Victim-1, Farahani and his network procured the services of private investigators to surveil, photograph and video record Victim-1 and Victim-1’s household members in Brooklyn. Farahani’s network procured days’ worth of surveillance at Victim-1’s home and the surrounding area, videos and photographs of the victim’s family and associates, surveillance of the victim’s residence, and the installation of and access to a live high-definition video feed of Victim-1’s home. The network repeatedly insisted on high-quality photographs and video recordings of Victim-1 and Victim-1’s household members; a large volume of content; pictures of visitors and objects around the house; and depictions of Victim-1’s body language. The network procured the surveillance by misrepresenting their identities and the purpose of the surveillance to the investigators, and laundered money into the United States from Iran to pay for the surveillance. Sadeghi acted as the network’s primary point of contact with private investigators while Noori facilitated payment to the investigators in furtherance of the plot.
As part of the kidnapping plot, the Farahani-led intelligence network also researched methods of transporting Victim-1 out of the United States for rendition to Iran. Sadeghi, for example, researched a service offering military-style speedboats for self-operated maritime evacuation out of New York City, and maritime travel from New York to Venezuela, a country whose de facto government has friendly relations with Iran. Khazein researched travel routes from Victim-1’s residence to a waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn; the location of Victim-1’s residence relative to Venezuela; and the location of Victim-1’s residence relative to Tehran.
The network that Farahani directs has also targeted victims in other countries, including victims in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, and has worked to procure similar surveillance of those victims.
As alleged, Bahadorifar provided financial and other services from the United States to Iranian residents and entities, including to Khazein, since approximately 2015. Bahadorifar facilitated access to the U.S. financial system and institutions through the use of card accounts and offered to manage business interests in the United States on Khazein’s behalf. Among other things, Bahadorifar caused a payment to be made to a private investigator for surveillance of Victim-1 on Khazein’s behalf. While Bahadorifar is not charged with participating in the kidnapping conspiracy, she is alleged to have provided financial services that supported the plot and is charged with conspiring to violate sanctions against Iran, commit bank and wire fraud, and commit money laundering. Bahadorifar is also charged with structuring cash deposits totaling more than approximately $445,000.
Farahani, Khazein, Sadeghi and Noori are each charged with: (1) conspiring to kidnap, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; (2) conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and sanctions against the government of Iran, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; (3) conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and (4) conspiring to launder money, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Bahadorifar is charged with counts two, three and four, and is further charged with structuring, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI’s New York Field Office, Counterintelligence-Cyber Division and Iran Threat Task Force are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Nathan Swinton of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Lockard, Jacob H. Gutwillig and Matthew J.C. Hellman of the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
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Feds Charge 4 in Iran Plot to Kidnap US Journalist, 4 OthersNewsmax
https://www.newsmax.com/
Journalist Masih Alinejad tweeted Tuesday night she was the target of an Iranian intelligence kidnapping attempt foiled by the FBI.An Iranian intelligence officer and three alleged members of an Iranian intelligence network have been charged in Manhattan with plotting to lure a U.S. journalist and human rights activist from New York to Iran, authorities said Tuesday.
An indictment in Manhattan federal court alleges the plot was part of a wider plan to lure three individuals in Canada and a fifth person in the United Kingdom to Iran. Victims were also targeted in the United Arab Emirates, authorities said. The identities of the alleged victims were not released.
According to the indictment, all of the targeted victims had been critical of Iran, including the New Yorker, a Brooklyn resident described as a journalist, author, and human rights activist who has publicized the government of Iran's human rights abuses.
Masih Alinejad acknowledged she was the target from Brooklyn in a series of tweets Tuesday night:
"I am grateful to FBI for foiling the Islamic Republic of Iran's Intelligence Ministry's plot to kidnap me. This plot was orchestrated under Rouhani. This is the regime that kidnapped & executed Ruhollah Zam. They've also kidnapped and jailed Jamshid Sharmahd and many others."
Although not charged in the kidnapping plot, Niloufar Bahadorifar, also known as Nellie, was arrested July 1 in California on charges that she has provided U.S. financial and other services to Iranian residents and entities and some financial services supported the plot and violated sanctions against Iran, according to a release.
The indictment said Bahadorifar, 46, originally from Iran, works at a California department store. Bahadorifar's lawyer, Assistant Federal Defender Martin Cohen, declined to comment.
Bahadorifar has pleaded not guilty to charges lodged at the time of her arrest and been released on bail, authorities said. She still faces arraignment on charges in Tuesday's superseding indictment.
The rest of the defendants are fugitives believed to be based in Iran, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said the four defendants charged in the kidnapping plot "monitored and planned to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who has been critical of the regime’s autocracy, and to forcibly take their intended victim to Iran, where the victim’s fate would have been uncertain at best."
"Among this country’s most cherished freedoms is the right to speak one’s mind without fear of government reprisal. A U.S. citizen living in the United States must be able to advocate for human rights without being targeted by foreign intelligence operatives," she added.
"Every person in the United States must be free from harassment, threats and physical harm by foreign powers," acting U.S. Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko said. "Through this indictment, we bring to light one such pernicious plot to harm an American citizen who was exercising their First Amendment rights."
William F. Sweeney Jr., the head of New York's FBI office, noted the indictment sounded a bit like "some far-fetched movie plot."
"We allege a group, backed by the Iranian government, conspired to kidnap a U.S. based journalist here on our soil and forcibly return her to Iran. Not on our watch," he said.
The Iranian intelligence officer, who remains a fugitive, was identified as Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani.
Farahani, 50, and three other defendants tried since at least June 2020 to kidnap the U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who lives in Brooklyn, the indictment said. If caught and convicted, the four could all face life in prison.
Farahani and the network he led on multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021 lied about his intentions as he hired private investigators to surveil, photograph and video record the targeted journalist and his household members, the indictment said. It said the surveillance included a live high-definition video feed of the journalist's home.
The indictment alleged that the government of Iran in 2018 tried to lure the journalist to a third country so a capture would be possible, even offering money to the journalist's relatives to try to make it possible. The relatives, the indictment said, refused the offer.
Authorities said Iranian intelligence services has previously lured other Iranian dissidents from France and the United States to capture and imprison critics of the Iranian regime and have publicly claimed responsibility for the capture operations.
They noted, as did the indictment, that an electronic device used by Farahani contains a photograph of the New York journalist alongside pictures of two other individuals. Those individuals, the indictment said, were captured by Iranian intelligence authorities. One was later executed and the other was imprisoned, it said.
The others charged in the kidnapping plot were identified as Mahmoud Khazein, 42, Kiya Sadeghi, 35, and Omid Noori, 45, all from Iran.
According to the indictment, Sadeghi researched a service offering military-style speedboats that could perform a maritime evacuation out of New York City that would ultimately reach Venezuela, whose de facto government has friendly relations with Iran.
Khazein, it said, researched travel routes from the journalist's residence to a waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn and the location of the journalist's residence relative to Venezuela and Tehran.
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U.S. charges four with plot to kidnap New York journalist critical of IranReuters
https://www.reuters.com/WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have charged four Iranians, alleged to be intelligence operatives for Tehran, with plotting to kidnap a New York journalist and human rights activist who was critical of Iran, according to a Justice Department indictment unsealed on Tuesday.
In recent years, Iranian intelligence officers have tricked a number of overseas activists to travel to destinations where they were kidnapped and sent back to Iran, U.S. authorities said.
While the indictment did not name the target of the plot, Reuters has confirmed she is Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, who has contributed to the U.S. government-funded Voice of America Persian language service and reports on human rights issues in Iran.
Asked by Reuters to confirm that Alinejad was the target of the plot, the Department of Justice declined to comment.
But Alinejad, reached by phone by Reuters after the indictment was released, said she was in a state of shock. She said she had been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation since the agency approached her eight months ago with photographs taken by the plotters.
"They showed me the Islamic Republic had gotten very close," she said.
The four Iranians hired private investigators under false pretenses to surveil the journalist in Brooklyn, videotaping her family and home as part of a plot to kidnap her, according to prosecutors.
The four defendants planned "to forcibly take their intended victim to Iran, where the victim’s fate would have been uncertain at best," Audrey Strauss, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said.
The Iranian operatives hired private investigators in Manhattan to surveil Alinejad and her family, claiming that she was a missing person from Dubai who had fled the country to avoid paying a debt, prosecutors said
Prosecutors said the Iranian operatives had researched how they might spirit the journalist out of New York on a high-speed boat headed for Caracas.
Iran directed the operation against the journalist with "the intention to lure our citizen back to Iran as retaliation for their freedom of expression,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
In 2019, Iranian intelligence officers lured Ruhollah Zam, a journalist living in France, out of the country, capturing and later executing him in Iran on sedition charges, prosecutors said.
Representatives for the Mission of Iran to the U.N. could not be reached for comment.
Alinejad said she had drawn the ire of Iran by publicizing women in Iran protesting laws requiring head coverings, as well as accounts of Iranians killed in demonstrations in 2019.
Alinejad said Iranian operatives had tried multiple times to lure her to Turkey with threats and promises to meet family, she said.
FBI agents warned Alinejad earlier this year that Iran was planning to kidnap her, moving the journalist and her husband to a series of safe houses as they investigated the case.
She said she was still reeling from reading the indictment.
“I can’t believe I’m not even safe in America,” she said.
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Iranian Intelligence Plotted to Kidnap U.S.-Based Activist, Prosecutors SayWSJ
https://www.wsj.com/Alleged scheme targeted Masih Alinejad, a Brooklyn-based critic of Tehran who has rallied opinion against Iran’s compulsory head scarves for women
Tehran has targeted dual nationals like Masih Alinejad amid simmering tensions with the West over Iran’s nuclear program and civil unrest at home.Iranian intelligence agents plotted to kidnap a U.S.-based human-rights activist and critic of the Islamic Republic and forcibly return her to Iran, federal prosecutors said, marking an escalation of Iran’s attempts to silence dissidents around the world.
The alleged scheme targeted Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American who has used her social-media profile, Western government contacts and cable news appearances to rally opinion against Tehran’s treatment of women and the government policy of compulsory head scarves.
In an interview, Ms. Alinejad, who lives in Brooklyn, said federal agents informed her of the alleged kidnapping scheme last year and told her it was the first known attempt by Iranian officials to carry out a kidnapping plot on American soil.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced the kidnapping conspiracy charges against an Iranian intelligence official, Alireza Farahani, and three Iranian intelligence assets, all of whom remain at large in Iran. It couldn’t be determined if the men have U.S. attorneys.
A fifth individual, Niloufar Bahadorifar, a California resident, was charged with providing financial services that supported the kidnapping scheme and conspiring to commit fraud, money laundering and sanctions violations, though she isn’t charged with the kidnapping plot. Ms. Bahadorifar’s attorney declined to comment.
Masih Alinejad, shown in 2016, said she assisted with the federal investigation and was moved to a safe house for several months.The Iranian government tried to lure Ms. Alinejad to Iran through her relatives, prosecutors said. When her family refused, Mr. Farahani’s intelligence network paid investigators to surveil and record Ms. Alinejad and her family in Brooklyn. They also researched ways to sneak Ms. Alinejad out of the U.S., including a plot to abduct her to Venezuela before bringing her to Iran, according to the indictment.
“My goal was to come to the land of opportunity, not be harassed by my own government in New York,” Ms. Alinejad said. “That shows how much they’re scared of me.”
The New York charges represented the latest reported attempt by Iranian intelligence to capture foreign-based critics and return them to Iran. Tehran has targeted dual nationals like Ms. Alinejad amid simmering tensions with the West over the country’s nuclear program and civil unrest at home.
Iran executed France-based journalist Ruhollah Zam in December, after he was abducted by Iranian forces and sentenced to death for inciting antigovernment protests in 2017.
The execution of Mr. Zam, who ran a popular news channel on the Telegram messaging platform that he used to share news and logistics involving antigovernment unrest in Iran, showed the willingness of Iranian authorities to defy international opposition in its suppression of the country’s media and opposition activists, and demonstrated the reach of its intelligence services beyond the country’s borders.
A spokesman for Iran’s U.N. Mission in New York didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Alinejad said she assisted with the federal investigation and was moved to a safe house for several months. She said she had viewed surveillance photos taken of her and her home in Brooklyn that were intercepted by law enforcement.
The Iranian government arrested her brother who remained in the country last year and sentenced him to eight years in prison for her activism, the indictment unsealed Tuesday said.
Ms. Alinejad receives videos from Iran of women being harassed, taking off the hijab covering and of protests, which she posts to her widely followed social-media accounts, bringing attention to the issues. The Iranian government has previously threatened a decade of imprisonment for dissenters who share videos that are considered against the regime. Still, Ms. Alinejad said, she continues to be bombarded with footage.
Ms. Alinejad, who works for U.S. government-funded international broadcaster Voice of America, wants to meet Biden administration officials to advocate for Iranian women. During the Trump administration, in 2019, she met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“I’m not going to give up,” she said.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director William Sweeney said the FBI would work with international partners to bring the Iranian suspects to the U.S. for prosecution.