Three Russian citizens have been accused of defrauding Americans across 21 states of over $63 million. This information comes from a December 2024 indictment, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio recently made public.
The accused individuals, Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, 43, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, 34, and Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova, 29, are alleged to have engaged in harmful cyber activities targeting U.S. infrastructure. These activities were conducted through their businesses based in St. Petersburg, Russia, named Media Land, LLC, and ML.Cloud, LLC.
Their overseas location allowed these defendants to establish criminal infrastructures attacking critical U.S. institutions, according to the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva. Duva emphasized the risk these actions posed to the American public and reiterated the commitment to dismantling such networks to protect critical infrastructure.
The indictment lists various charges against the trio, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud, wire fraud, aiding and abetting these activities, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program offers up to $10 million for information on foreign government-linked associates of the trio or any affiliates of their companies.
Sanctions were imposed on the companies by the U.S. and allied countries in 2025. Media Land and MLCloud provided hosting services and IT infrastructure domestically and internationally. They promoted ‘bulletproof hosting’ services aimed at clients seeking to avoid law enforcement detection.
The indictment reveals the companies supported criminal activities by offering infrastructure and technical support for co-conspirators to infect computers with malware and ransomware, later extorting victims for money and cryptocurrency.
Additionally, these companies facilitated computer-based crimes such as operating criminal marketplaces, fraudulent domain registrations, and executing phishing and brute force attacks.
Victims of these nefarious acts were not confined to the U.S.; the scams had a global impact. This resulted in U.S. authorities collaborating with international partners to address the menace.
David M. Toepfer, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, stressed how the crime affected not only Ohio but 20 other states, impacting diverse sectors such as banking, education, government, healthcare, and media.
International partners recognized by Toepfer included the National Police of the Netherlands, the Netherlands’ Public Prosecutor’s Office, the UK’s National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Australian Federal Police.
Today’s announcement highlights the critical role of global partnerships and international cooperation, especially in dealing with cybercriminals in a borderless digital realm, remarked FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge, Josh DelManzo. He emphasized that whether for business or personal use, those online must remain vigilant against efforts from criminal networks to exploit information for their personal profit.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice for further comments. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Ohio declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.