- Three men, including an Iranian operative, are accused of plotting a murder-for-hire scheme in the United States targeting an Iranian dissident and a woman he escaped with.
- The suspects communicated through an encrypted messaging app and planned to hire gunmen to carry out the murder, but the plot was foiled.
- The Justice Department vows to pursue justice for acts of violence on U.S. soil, regardless of the culprits’ location, and has taken legal action against individuals worldwide targeting dissidents in the U.S.
Additional Coverage:
Three men have been accused of plotting to carry out a murder-for-hire scheme in the United States targeting an Iranian dissident and a woman he escaped with, according to a recently unsealed federal indictment. The Justice Department claims that Naji Sharifi Zindashti, operating from Iran, masterminded the international plot from 2020 to 2021. The indictment states that Zindashti planned to send a team of hired gunmen to target the two victims, both living in Maryland, but the plot was ultimately thwarted.
The investigation reveals that Zindashti began communicating with Damion Patrick John Ryan, a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club from Canada, in December 2020. Ryan then reached out to Adam Richard Pearson, a Canadian national residing illegally in Minnesota. According to court documents, Pearson later instructed his team of gunmen to shoot the victim in the head multiple times to set an example.
The group communicated through an encrypted messaging app called SkyECC. Zindashti informed Ryan that he was ready for the plot to proceed after agreeing to pay the men $350,000 for the job and an additional $20,000 for travel expenses. An unnamed co-conspirator allegedly exchanged encrypted messages with Ryan, providing pictures of the targets and maps of potential locations within Maryland. On March 8, 2021, Ryan was paid $20,000 to cover the hired group’s travel expenses.
Matt Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, issued a statement declaring that these charges serve as a clear message to those plotting murders on U.S. soil. He emphasized that the Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue justice for such acts, regardless of how long it takes or where the culprits are located.
All three defendants are facing conspiracy charges, while Pearson is additionally accused of illegal possession of a firearm. Pearson and Ryan are currently detained in Canada for unrelated charges, while Zindashti remains in Iran. The Justice Department has taken legal action against multiple individuals worldwide, including those from Iran, for targeting dissidents living in the United States.
In a separate case in January 2023, the Justice Department charged three individuals from the U.S., Iran, and the Czech Republic with plotting to assassinate an Iranian journalist living in the U.S. due to her outspoken critique of Iran’s regime. Former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, also revealed that he still receives Secret Service protection following an Iranian plot to have him killed.
In November, an Indian national was charged with participating in an alleged plot, orchestrated by an individual working for the Indian government, to kill a Sikh political activist in the U.S. The extradition process is currently underway in the Czech Republic after the arrest of Nikhil Gupta in Europe over the summer.
The FBI arrested two defendants in April 2023 for operating an illegal Chinese police station in the heart of New York City. The defendants allegedly aimed to intimidate and influence dissidents critical of the Chinese government in the U.S. These charges followed a 2022 indictment of over a dozen defendants, mostly Chinese officials, for engaging in schemes to repatriate critics of the Chinese government, gather classified information about a U.S. investigation into a Chinese telecom company, and recruit spies against the U.S.