Three men have been charged in a $350,000 murder-for-hire plot against Iranian nationals who fled to the United States.
Naji Sharifi Zindashti, 49, who has ties to the Iranian government, is accused of recruiting Canadian citizens Damion Patrick John Ryan, 43, and Adam Richard Pearson, 29, to murder two Maryland residents.
The men allegedly used an encrypted messaging service called SkyECC from December 2020 to March 2021 to recruit people who would travel to the United States to carry out the murders.
They discussed at length the identities and locations of their targets, planned how to carry out the murders and negotiated payment for completing the “job,” according to the indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
The potential victims had previously fled to the United States after one of them defected from Iran.
While both Ryan and Pearson came from Canada, Pearson was living in Minnesota to escape murder charges in his home country. He was arrested in July 2021 and extradited the following year.
Two Canadians and an Iranian national (Naji Sharifi Zindashti, 49, pictured) have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot against Iranian citizens who fled to the United States.
Local media in Iran have highlighted Zindashti’s alleged connections to the government militia, which is said to support his drug cartel.
In January 2021, the men discussed a job in the United States, with Ryan noting that it would be a challenge, but that he “maybe have someone to do it.”
He messaged Pearson, a Hells Angels motorcycle gang member with a checkered criminal past, about a “job” in Maryland.
Pearson stated that “shooting is probably the easiest thing for them” and that he was “on it.” Ryan advised that “two guys go with the right team.”
Pearson said he would encourage recruits to shoot the potential victim in the head, stating, “we have to remove the head from the torso.”
Later that month, Zindashti messaged Ryan asking for an update. Ryan said he was putting “things in order” and asked for money.
A few days later, Zindashti told Ryan that her organization was ready to move forward with the plan.
Zindashti and Ryan agreed to a payment of $350,000 plus $20,000 to cover expenses.
After Zindashti introduced Ryan to an individual identified in the indictment as Co-Conspirator 1, Ryan stated, “We have a 4-man team ready.”
The anonymous accomplice sent Ryan information about the potential victims, including their photographs and a map showing their known address.
Co-Conspirator 1 also facilitated a payment of $20,000 to Ryan to cover travel expenses.
Zindashti, Ryan and Pearson are charged with one count of conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities to commit murder for hire.
Pearson is also charged with possession of a firearm by a fugitive from justice, as well as possession of a firearm by an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.
Zindashti currently resides in Iran and local media has highlighted her connections to the government militia, which allegedly supports her drug cartel.
The Iranian national allegedly recruited Canadians Damion Patrick John Ryan, 43, and Adam Richard Pearson, 29, into the scheme. Both men have extensive criminal records.
The men have been charged with one count of conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities to commit murder for hire, and Pearson faces two additional charges related to possession of a firearm.
In addition to paying bribes, sources say the 49-year-old supplies opium and heroin to senior officials in Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
An investigation by Iran International found that his gangs traffic more than 20 percent of the drugs distributed throughout the country and about 35 percent in the capital, Tehran.
Both Canadian suspects are already in prison.
Ryan is awaiting trial for separate offenses in Manitoba. In February 2022, the 43-year-old was hiding in a luxurious home in Ottawa that was once owned by members of a Canadian criminal organization.
Police conducted a search and recovered a dozen illegal handguns, several high-capacity magazines, ammunition and a device used to convert a semi-automatic handgun to a fully automatic one. Many weapons were loaded.
Ryan was charged with four firearms charges, one count of possession of a magazine for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of ammunition for dangerous purposes.
The three men spoke via an encrypted messaging app called SkyECC from December 2020 to March 2021 as they planned how to carry out the murders and negotiated payment for completing the “job.”
These were in addition to charges stemming from a 2018 investigation, in which Ryan was one of 22 people charged in connection with international shipments of firearms and drugs.
The 43-year-old has an extensive criminal record spanning several provinces. In 2015, he was charged with drug trafficking in Ontario.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking and one count of possession of stolen property in 2016 and was sentenced to three months.
A decade earlier, in 2005, he was sentenced to five years in connection with a home invasion related to a marijuana growing operation.
Pearson is awaiting court proceedings after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Cody Michaloski, an Alberta man.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for the 29-year-old in 2020. He was arrested by the FBI in Minneapolis in 2021 and extradited in February of the following year.