Iranian, 2 Canadians charged in murder-for-hire plot in US

The alleged murder-for-hire plot was targeting an Iranian defector
Prosecutors: One defendant used encrypted messaging to recruit gunmen
Justice Department did not accuse Iranian government in indictment

Updated: Jan 29, 2024 / 05:19 PM CST

FILE – The Justice Department in Washington, Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

(NewsNation) — The U.S. Justice Department on Monday announced charges against an Iranian national and two Canadian nationals in an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting an Iranian defector.

Federal prosecutors allege 43-year-old Damion Patrick John Ryan and 29-year-old Adam Richard Pearson conspired with Iranian national Naji Sharifi Zindashti from December 2020 to March 2021 to kill two Maryland residents.

Prosecutors say Zindashti, who lives in Iran, used an encrypted messaging service to recruit individuals to travel to the U.S., discuss the identities and locations of the would-be victims, plan logistics of how to carry out the murders and negotiate payment for completion of this “job” in Maryland.

The indictment alleges Zindashti orchestrated the murder plot but did not accuse the Iranian government of directing the scheme.

The intended victims fled to Maryland after one of them defected from Iran.

“To those in Iran who plot murders on U.S. 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 G. Olsen said in a statement.

Prosecutors said the Treasury Department sanctioned Zindashti as a result of the indictment, barring him from “engaging in any transaction or dealing” that involves a U.S. citizen or happens in the United States.

According to the indictment, Zindashti and Ryan settled on a $350,000 payment for the hit, in addition to cover $20,000 for expenses. An unnamed co-conspirator provided Ryan with information about the would-be victims, including their photographs and a map showing where they lived.

Ryan and Pearson are currently incarcerated in Canada on unrelated charges, according to the DOJ statement.

All three men 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.