US charges 49 Russian diplomats with fraud, says some were spies

Intel News – by JOSEPH FITSANAKIS

The United States has filed charges against dozens of current and former Russian diplomats, accusing them of defrauding American taxpayers of over a million dollars.

Meanwhile, sources have told CNN that some of the accused also engaged in espionage against the US. Last week, the US Department of Justice charged 49 Russian citizens with participating in a nine-year fraud scheme, through which they pocketed approximately $1.5 million from Medicaid. Created in 1965, Medicaid is a US government insurance program for persons of all ages whose income and resources are insufficient to pay for health care.  

Twenty-five of those accused of fraud are current and former Russian diplomats, while 24 are spouses of diplomats. Eleven of them are currently in the US, ten of whom work at the Russian consular mission in New York. The remaining diplomat is stationed at the embassy of Russia in Washington, DC.

The members of the fraud ring are accused of falsifying applications for Medicaid benefits by systematically under-reporting or completely concealing their incomes. While receiving thousands of dollars in benefits from the American government, the diplomats and their spouses lived a frivolous lifestyle, purchasing luxury goods in some of America’s most expensive department stores, like Tiffany’s and Bloomingdale’s.

On Monday, however, CNN’s Security Clearance blog reported that some of the 49 Russian diplomats involved in the fraud scheme are also believed to have engaged in espionage against the United States.

The spies were in fact investigated “for quite some time” by Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence agents in Washington and New York, said CNN. At the end, however, federal prosecutors decided they had insufficient evidence to file espionage charges, and passed the case on to the Department of Justice, which brought fraud charges against the Russians.

Security Clearance said its sources did not specify how many of the accused are suspected of having engaged in espionage. Moreover, all 49 appear to have diplomatic immunity, and can only be arrested by US authorities if the Russian government agrees to waive their diplomatic status.

As this is considered extremely unlikely, chances are the US Department of State will simply expel the 11 Russians who are currently on US soil. An unnamed US official told CNN that the incident will embarrass the Russian government more than it will hurt its espionage operations in America.

http://intelnews.org/2013/12/11/01-1386/

2 thoughts on “US charges 49 Russian diplomats with fraud, says some were spies

  1. This sounds like they are f-ing with Russia. If they are diplomats don’t they have diplomatic immunity? If they knew they were here wouldn’t they keep an eye on them to see that they were not doing anything that they should be deported for?
    Putin just put out a statement that the Ukraine has been being blackmailed because they didn’t sign a trade deal that has been being negotiated for several years. The EU had said that they would organize protests because the trade deal wasn’t signed. That in mind is terrorism.
    This is about the NWO not getting their way. Everytime they get a blockade put in their way they resort to threats, intimidation and terrorism. We all know that these trade deals don’t benefit anyone. The US and Britain signed many trade deals. Look at the rates of unemployment and misery they have caused in our countries and around the world.
    It took 9 years to catch them? I don’t think so. If Russia wasn’t interfering or speaking against the NWO this would be a non-issue.
    Also the TPP just hit a deadline and won’t be finished by the end of the year. The NWO is frustrated and trying to figure out their next move.
    I concur with Occum.

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