[20180221]LSB10081_俄罗斯人因网络选举舞弊被起诉.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Russians Indicted for Online Election Trolling Updated February 21, 2018 The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the grand jury indictment of three Russian companies and thirteen Russian nationals on February 16, 2018. The indictment alleges that the defendants took part in a multi-layered, multi-million dollar scheme to surreptitiously participate in the most recent presidential election. The defendants are charged with aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud and with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. The indictment asserts that the purpose of the enterprise was to obstruct “the lawful governmental functions of the United States by dishonest means in order to enable the Defendants to interfere with U.S. political and electoral processes, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” One of the companies and four of the individual defendants are charged specifically with six counts of aggravated identity theft. The crime involves unlawfully possessing, using, or transferring the identity of someone else in connection with the commission of one of