Virginia tech firm's CEO, Russian national charged with hiding firm's Russian ties from U.S. government – CNBC

Virginia tech firm’s CEO, Russian national charged with hiding firm’s Russian ties from U.S. government  CNBC

Oxygen Forensics counted numerous U.S. government agencies among its customers but lied for years about who really controlled it, prosecutors allege. The Justice Department has charged the chief executive of a Virginia-based software company and a Russian businessman with lying to the U.S. government for years about who controlled the firm, according to a statement Wednesday. The case came after a former employee publicly made similar allegations that prompted Oxygen Forensics to sue him. Lee Reiber, 55, chief executive of Oxygen Forensics, was arrested Sunday in Boise, Idaho, where he lives, and released on bond. He is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. His co-defendant, Oleg Davydov, 52, of Moscow, was arrested the same day at London's Heathrow Airport, as he prepared to board a flight to Istanbul.

U.S. authorities said they were expected to seek his extradition. Both men are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a federal offense that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Oxygen Forensics sells digital forensics software that law enforcement and government agencies use to extract and analyze data from phones and computers. Its customers were reported to include the U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of War, the Pentagon's current official name. According to a criminal complaint, the