Kidnapping Conspiracy Charges Against An Iranian Intelligence Officer and Members Of An Iranian Intelligence Network

HELLO - GO LOOK AT THE CDCA CASE - one of the defendants was arrested in California on July 1, 2021 and now you know why the SDNY newly unsealed indictment is a SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT

US Attorney SDNY @SDNYnews

Manhattan U.S. Attorney announces kidnapping conspiracy charges against an Iranian intelligence officer and members of an Iranian intelligence network go.usa.gov/xFqgB @FBI @NewYorkFBI

Before you come at me - the Victim tweeted this shortly after 9PM last night. This was a few hours after the USAO-SDNY announced the kidnapping plot and published the unsealed (superseding) indictment —so I’m not outing her

Masih Alinejad 🏳️ @AlinejadMasih

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

This morning Ms Alinejad appeared on CNN’s New Day and I highly recommend you watch the 9 minute long interview because it adds a lot of color to the newly unsealed indictment

John Berman @JohnBerman

JUST NOW: Just INSANE story... Charges filed in an alleged Iranian plot to kidnap U.S. journalist/activist @AlinejadMasih from Brooklyn! @NewDay

Also one really important fact to keep in mind —she has well over 5.3Million followers on Instagram. Why? Because she uses her voice and often post for other Iranian Women - so they actually have a voice.

masih.alinejad

A post shared by @masih.alinejad

Defendants

• ALIREZA SHAVAROGHI FARAHANI, a/k/a “Vezarat Salimi,” a/k/a “Haj Ali,” (1)

• MAHMOUD KHAZEIN (2)

• KIYA SADEGHI, and (3)

• OMID NOORI (4)

• NILOUFAR BAHADORIFAR, a/k/a “Nellie Bahadorifar.” (5)

The Charges

Defendants #1 thru #4 —each charged;

• Count One - kidnapping conspiracy - maximum sentencing of life in prison.

• Count Two - sanctions violations conspiracy - specifically; conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Government of Iran. Maximum sentence of 20 years in prison

• Count Three - bank and wire fraud conspiracy, maximum sentence of 30 years in prison

• Count Four - conspiring to launder money, maximum sentence of 20 years in prison

Defendant # 5 NILOUFAR BAHADORIFAR, a/k/a Nellie Bahadorifar of California

• charged sanctions violations conspiracy, bank and wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and structuring charges. He wasn’t charged with Count One but he was charged with Count Five which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

SPOILER I now know why it’s a superseding Indictment. On July 1, 2021 Defendant Bahadorifar was arrested (see CDCA-ECF) Let’s go ahead and review Bahadorifar indictment - Out of District Indictment (from SDNY to CDCA) see CDCA-ECF for the indictment ¹ ² ³because it is imperative that you read that indictment before you read yesterday’s superseding indictment. I now refer you to paragraph 7 - the timeframe substantially increases - 2015 thru 2021, which reads in part:

…about 2015, up to and including in or about 2021, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, NTLOUFAR BAHADORIFAR, a/k/a "Nellie," the defendant, and others… knowingly and willfully combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other to violate, and to cause a violation of, licenses, orders, regulations, and prohibitions issued under the IEEPA.

SDNY - to- CDCA Bahadorifar Indictment

Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Ware Fraud - again this original indictment substantially increases the time frame — the “structuring” offense - here are some interesting details - over half a million in cash structuring deposits

…2019, up to and including in or about 2021…purpose of evading a cash transaction reporting requirement, did structure and assist in structuring,and attempt to structure and assist in structuring, transactions with one or more domestic financial institutions…

…as part of a pattern of any illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period, to wit… approximately April 2019 and May 2021, BAHADoRIFAR structured cash deposits totaling at least approximately $505,822.00 at a financial institution in individual deposits of less than $10,000 each.

It’s a Superseding Indictment

Why has no one noticed that the unsealed indictment is actually a superseding indictment ?

In 2018 the Iranian Government tried to induce the Victim’s family member to come visit Iran. Thankfully the family declined to do so. Still that’s insane the regime took this approach.

Sidebar remember on July 4th I noted that Trump Jr made a really odd affirmative defense, he invoked Putin and the Mullahs and at the time I noted how incredibly odd Junior’s equivocation was. And no I am not making any inference or passive implication that Junior may have been privy to highly confidential information. Notwithstanding it is some what of a small world, the victim is a US citizen who was residing in Brooklyn, NY. But there’s nothing in the public domain that would suggest Trump Senior told Trump Junior.

Iran’s Government hired Private Investigators

Not only was Victim-1 family members who are living in Iran targeted, the indictment states one of the relatives was arrested in September 2019 and was sentenced to eight years in prison -for merely associating with Victim-1 and while the indictment doesn’t explicitly state the family relative is the same one the Iran Regime approached in 2018 —it most certainly infers as much.

SURVEILLED VICTIM ON US SOIL - WTFINGF

From at least June 2020 until 2021 - the Iranian Regime hired private investigators to surveil, photograph and record videos of Victim-1 and those living with her in Brooklyn. The regime purported to say (upon hiring the multiple private investigators) that they were collecting evidence of Money Laundering…

Redition by Brooklyn Waterway to Venezuela

On one hand this reads like a fictionalized Hollywood-esq Movie transcript but the reality is this is entirely factual and frankly pretty damn scary. That is here Victim-1 is a US Citizen. She was surveilled by the Iran Government on US soil because the barbaric and archaic Iranian Regime wanted to silence her voice. It is profoundly disturbing and yet the FBI silently stood watch to ensure Victim-1’s safety. By all appearances once the FBI was made aware they took numerous covert and overt steps to protect Victim-1

“….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.    

Also because it is important that you read every single paragraph in the DOJ-OPA: for example this little fact nugget was causally included in that long DOJ Press Release

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

At any rate I have to return to my actual job but I had a few moments during lunch to re-edit and ultimately publish this - but I have a 12:45PM conference call —if you hear something that sounds like thunder -that’s probably just me slamming my head on my desk - in an attempt to render myself unconscious because teams calls are like getting a root canal sans Novocai —I gave you the red line edits on Monday and it’s not my fault that you didn’t sign off so now the world stops because it needs to be filed by 3PM…

You have a great and productive day -is it 6 o’clock yet?

1. also trying a new document sharing platform because Google drive has gone a little wonky NILOUFAR BAHADORIFAR, a/k/a Nellie Indictment https://www.scribd.com/document/515785765/Sdny-July-1st-Indictment-Niloufar-Bahadorifar

2. arrest warrant of NILOUFAR BAHADORIFAR, a/k/a Nellie https://www.scribd.com/document/515786455/Niloufar-Bahadorifar-Arrest-Warrant

3. USA v Niloufar Bahadorifar Notice of Detention - https://www.scribd.com/document/515787033/Usa-v-Niloufar-Bahadorifar-Notice-of-Detention