Merrimack resident accused of aiding Russian war machine
Dec. 13—A home in Merrimack was used as a way station for shipments of high-tech equipment to Russian companies that assist the "Russian Federation's war machine," according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The 46-page indictment, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names Merrimack resident Alexey Brayman, five Russian nationals and a New Jersey resident as part of a network that acquired dual-use equipment such as oscilloscopes, signal generators, multimeters and sensitive electronic test equipment and exported it to Russia.
Dual-use equipment can be used in both civilian and military applications.
Brayman, one of three people in custody so far, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, the indictment says. Conviction would result in 30 years in prison, officials said.
"The Department of Justice and our international partners will not tolerate criminal schemes to bolster the Russian military's war efforts," U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. "With three of the defendants now in custody, we have disrupted the procurement network allegedly used by the defendants and Russian intelligence services to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition and sensitive electronic components into Russia."
The FBI said agents took Brayman into custody Tuesday morning without incident. He was released on a $150,000 bond with home electronic monitoring following a removal hearing at U.S. District Court in Concord Tuesday evening.
The seven are accused of violating import controls that were instituted in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea and were renewed this year after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Most of the alleged transactions took place in the spring of this year, several months after the invasion.
The indictment spells out how members of the alleged spy ring communicated with each another and operated a network that allegedly supplied material to two Russian companies U.S. officials say "are instrumental to the Russian Federation's war machine."
Anatomy of a spy ring
Much of the network ran through the Brayman home, the indictment says. According to property records, Brayman and his wife, Daria Romonova Brayman, bought the home at 30 Ellie Drive in Merrimack in 2019 for $425,000. Daria Brayman has not been charged with a crime.
"(Co-defendant Vadim) Yermolenko shipped packages to Brayman at the New Hampshire Residence, which was a frequent transshipment point for items that were unlawfully exported from the United States to Russia," the indictment reads.
The indictment says that the seven and the Serniya Network, a procurement company under the control of Russian intelligence operations, made the purchases and shipped millions of dollars worth of sensitive, dual-use technologies.
"These items included advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment used in quantum computing, hypersonic and nuclear weapons development and other military and space-based military applications," the indictment reads.
Equipment was shipped through shell companies using layered transactions, which made them more difficult to track, and moved through Estonia, Finland, Germany and Hong Kong.
One of the five Russian nationals, Vadim Konoshchenok, is suspected of being an officer in the Russian Federal Security Service. He was arrested in Estonia last week, and officials are pursuing his extradition, according to a statement by federal prosecutors in New York.
Estonian authorities searched a warehouse controlled by Konoshchenok and found 375 pounds of U.S.-made ammunition, the prosecutors aid.
Four others have not been captured.
Details of allegations
One example in the indictment of Brayman's involvement describes a $14,000 military-grade spectrum analyzer, which was purchased from a Florida company. It can be used to measure electromagnetic signals on the battlefield and for counter-surveillance operations.
It was shipped through New Hampshire.
In another case, dual-use oscilloscopes from an Illinois company, valued at $25,000 apiece, were shipped to Brayman's address. The equipment was tightly controlled by the Department of Commerce for anti-terrorism reasons.
Brayman allegedly repackaged them, listed the value as $2,500 and labeled the package "Oscilloscope — Used, No Warr."
His Facebook page shows a clean-cut, muscular young man enjoying life in St. Augustine, Florida; Haifa, Israel; and at the TD Garden in Boston, where he attended a Celtics game.
It also shows him with two other adults and a child at the JFK ice arena in Manchester in February.
"First time ever standing on skates on ice," the post reads.
Google searches show an Alexey Brayman associated with several businesses and property sales in New Hampshire.
For example, Brayman is listed as the administrator of a business called Cool Houz LLC. The listed telephone number was not in operation.
Brayman is listed as an agent for a company that was incorporated in 2013, Yeezy Light Inc. of Manchester, but later suspended. It is described as a foreign profit organization.
An Alexey Brayman also sold property in Derry in 2016.
A surreal scene
On Tuesday, the curtains and blinds were drawn and closed at 30 Ellie Drive. The front porch was decorated with festive holiday greenery, and an inflatable Santa Claus, reindeer, and snowman swayed in the steady breeze on the front lawn.
A black SUV was parked in the driveway, but no one answered the door.
The only people on the street were local and out-of-state media organizations, and a couple of neighbors who exited their homes, got into their cars and drove off, after declining to speak with a Union Leader reporter.
Another neighbor, who declined to give his name, said he didn't know the couple very well.
"It's usually quiet here," he said, before gesturing toward a van belonging to a Massachusetts television station.
At the Reeds Ferry Market convenience store on Daniel Webster Highway, Kayla Adler said she saw the story on social media that morning. She said she couldn't believe it when she saw a headline suggesting spies were in Merrimack.
"It's like a movie," Adler said.
Union Leader reporter Paul Feely contributed to this report.
