US Charges 11 in Alleged Deep-Cover Russian Spy Ring
In a case that reads like a fictional espionage thriller, the United States has charged 11 individuals with involvement in an alleged deep-cover long-term Russian spy ring that apparently may have been operating in this country for at least a decade in an effort to recruit people able to infiltrate high-level government policy-making circles.
Among those whose communications were intercepted as part of the multi-agency investigation was an unidentified former legislative counsel to Congress, according to the New York Post. Charges are being pursued in federal court in Manhattan.
Spy ring participants—using methods ranging from traditional invisible ink to embedding coded messages into Internet images—are accused of embedding themselves in American cities and suburbs. Some, allegedly assigned to pose as married couples, even went so far as to have children together, reports the New York Times.
The Post provides copies of the complaint—part one (PDF) and part two (PDF)—in the case.
All of the defendants are charged with conspiring to act as foreign government agents without notifying the U.S. attorney general and 10 are charged as well with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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