A North Carolina couple accused of having organized a $ 150 million ploy

RALEIGH, NC (AP) – A Russian couple who led a lavish life behind the gates of a vast North Carolina mansion concealed An explosive secret, prosecutors said this week: They lived through a scheme that reported $ 150 million in bribes to subcontractors seeking to do business with the Russian army.

In addition, federal prosecutors also stated that their husband, Leonid Teyf, was planning a murder against a man – the son of a former housekeeper – whom he suspected of having an affair with his wife.

Now, Teyf, 57, and his three other people face charges ranging from money laundering to immigration fraud. Teyf was also charged with murder against hiring.

This money-laundering scheme dates back to around 2010, when Teyf was deputy director of a company called Voentorg, which supplied the Russian army with laundry, food and other equipment. to a federal indictment. In turn, Voentorg was looking for products from subcontractors and Teyf was demanding a reduction in the public funds they had paid – bribes of up to $ 150 million in cash over a two-year period, said prosecutors.

Federal authorities wrote Wednesday in a press release.

Teyf, who was also chairman of the Russian commercial fishing fleet, transferred money. "Illegal bribes of funds belonging to the Government of Russia" using foreign banks reputed to launder money, according to the indictment. And since at least 2010, according to prosecutors, Teyf and his wife, Tatyana, 41, have transferred about $ 39 million into US bank accounts.

Teyf and others have also created American companies to help launder money, authorities said: including a trucking company in Illinois.

Teyf and his wife owned luxury cars, expensive art works and a 17,000-square-foot house maintained by housekeepers along a Raleigh golf course, according to court documents . The Wake County property records show a value of nearly $ 5 million. The records indicate that the couple has been the owner since 2012.

Law enforcement officers raided the home on December 5, attracting the attention of local media.

Federal prosecutors are now trying to seize assets, including the mansion, four Mercedes. Sedans and works of art worth $ 2.6 million

Teyf, his wife and Alexey Timofeev are facing multiple charges of money laundering. money. According to the indictment, Timofeev had participated in the management of the money laundering business used in Illinois and had been involved in the transfer of money between accounts.

Two Other People Face Immigration Fraud Charges

Leonid Teyf's lawyers did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment. Other people's lawyers were not on the Federal Court's file list, and the representatives of the federal public defender's office did not immediately respond to a message asking if they represented them.

While they were investigating the money laundering charges, the investigators discovered something. more sinister this year. The FBI has learned that Leonid Teyf thought his wife was having an affair and had asked a police source to help him prepare for the death of this man, prosecutors said. According to court records, Teyf thought his wife was having an affair with the son of a former housekeeper,

Teyf sought to bribe an internal security employee in order to deport him to Russia, where he would probably be killed. according to court documents, but he became impatient.

"When the deportation plan was taking longer than expected, Leonid Teyf returned to his murder plan for public account and paid $ 25,000 to the confidential source the man before the end of 2018," said the authorities in the press release.

The authorities claim that Teyf provided a firearm with the serial numbers scrapped for the murder, which was never perpetrated.

Leonid Teyf risked up to 20 years in prison if convicted of bribery, firearm and murder on behalf of employer. The others risk a maximum sentence of 10 years.