An American CEO has been charged with conspiring a plot to help Russian nationals infiltrate the US Secret Service, the Department of War and other critical federal agencies.
Lee Reiber, 55, CEO of Alexandria, Virginia-based digital forensics firm Oxygen Forensics Inc, was arrested on Sunday in Idaho and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Department of Justice announced.
Russian national Oleg Davydov, 52, was arrested Sunday at London‘s Heathrow Airport and the US is currently seeking his extradition.
Both men are accused of concealing from US officials that their Oxygen Forensics was owned by Russian nationals and that its software, which was used by the US Secret Service (USSS), was developed in Russia.
They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
In September 2024, the firm signed a five-year deal with the United States Secret Service (USSS) and its National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI). Part of that deal included certification for Reiber that the company had no immediate or highest-level owner who would raise alarm, such as a cadre of Russian nationals.
The software is used to recover, preserve and analyze electronic data from digital devices, making its deployment at NCFI, which educates and trains law enforcement and judicial officials on combating cybercrime, a top concern of federal officials.
The DOJ arrested an American CEO for allegedly concealing his firm’s Russian ownership. The firm had a five-year contract with the US Secret Service
The firm was owned by five Russian nationals and its software was developed in Russia and managed there too, but its American CEO told federal officials it was a US-based company
In September 2024, the firm signed a five-year deal with the USSS and its National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI). Part of that deal included certification for Reiber that the company had no immediate or highest-level owner who would raise alarm, such as a cadre of Russian nationals
The affidavit identifies multiple US agencies that were affected by the Russian-linked firm, including the Department of War, the Department of Homeland Security and the department’s Inspector General’s office.
US prosecutors also alleged that the Russian owners had their names scrubbed from the company in recent years, around the same time that the American was installed as chief executive.
‘Reiber was installed as the company’s CEO, president, and chairman of the board in March 2022. The Russian owners were then removed from the company’s public corporate filings,’ the court filings state.
The software was also widely used by the Russian government’s security agencies, prosecutors allege.
Developed by DavyDov in Russia in 2000, it has been previously sold to the Russian federal security service, the Russian investigative committee and the Russian ministry of internal affairs.
‘In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Davydov, Reiber, and the Russian co-conspirators agreed to conceal Oxygen Forensics’ true ownership and the development of its software in Russia,’ the Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said.
Reiber allegedly emailed his Russian boss Davydov that the firm’s links to Russia mustn’t be discovered because it could potentially ‘destroy this entire opportunity,’ in reference to the pending federal contract.
The company, he allegedly stated in an email, ‘hangs in the balance.’
Prosecutors also allege that in March 2026 Reiber told government officials that Russians were not involved in building the software, and no one in the country had access to it.
The federal prosecutors claim that was false and the software allegedly was managed by a Russian team.
The White House referred the Daily Mail’s request for comment to the USSS. The USS did not immediately respond.
