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One Iranian and two Canadian nationals have been indicted and charged with conspiracy to use interstate commerce in the commission of a murder-for-hire plot, officials say, and the target of their "job" was two people in Maryland.
Those charged:
Naji Sharifi Zindashti, 49;
- Damion Patrick John Ryan, 43;
- Adam Richard Pearson, 29.
Officials say that the three would use an encrypted messaging service to recruit people who would travel to the US to carry out killings, discuss the IDs and location of possible victims, and to plan out how they'd execute the "job" in Maryland.
According to court documents, the intended victims of the murder conspiracy previously fled to the US after one of them defected from Iran and landed in Maryland.
“To those in Iran who plot murders on US soil and the criminal actors who work with them, let today’s charges send a clear message: the Department of Justice will pursue you as long as it takes – and wherever you are – and deliver justice," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said on Monday.
In addition to the indictment, federal officials said that "the Treasury Department took action against Zindashti’s criminal network that targets Iranian dissidents and opposition activists for kidnapping and assassination at the direction of the Iranian regime."
As alleged in the indictment, between December 2020 and January 2021, Zindashti and Ryan communicated about “jobs,” “equipment,” “tools” and plans to “make some money" through the app.
Those conversations came to a head in January 2021, when they discussed a job in the US , which Ryan said would be difficult to complete on US soil, but he "might have someone do it."
That same day, he messaged Pearson about a "job" in Maryland, with the latter saying that “shooting is probably easiest thing for them,” and that he was “on it.”
Prosecutors say that Ryan recommended “(two) guys go with proper equipment,” and Pearson said he would encourage the recruits for the job to “shoot (the victim) in the head a lot (to) make example” and that he would tell them “we gotta erase his head from his torso.”
In late January 2021, Zindashti requested an update, with Ryan responding that he was "getting things in order," and required money, agreeing on a $350,000 payment for the "job" plus an extra $20,000. for expenses.
They continued to discuss the planned hit through the encrypted app with co-conspirators providing Ryan information about the Maryland victims, including their photographs and images of a map that highlighted their address.
“As alleged, Zindashti and his team of gunmen used an encrypted messaging service to orchestrate an assassination plot against two individuals,” US Attorney Andrew Luger said. “Thanks to the skilled work of federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents, this murder-for-hire conspiracy was disrupted and the (three) will face justice.”
All three have been charged with one count of conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.
Pearson is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a fugitive from justice and one count of possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States.
Officials said that Zindashti currently resides in Iran. Ryan and Pearson are currently incarcerated in Canada on unrelated offenses.
“Today’s charges show a pattern of Iranian groups trying to murder US residents on US soil,” Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division added.
“Zindashti and his accomplices’ alleged plot is reprehensible, and the FBI will not tolerate such acts against US residents, and we will continue to pursue these individuals until they are brought to the US to face justice.”
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