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March 9 (UPI) -- A federal court filing Tuesday charged a dual U.S.-Russian citizen with acting and conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government. The spy charges against Elena Branson, a.k.a. Elena Chernykh, allege she acted as a Russian agent from 2011 "up to and including the present."
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Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a press statement that Branson illegally "worked on behalf of the Russian government and Russian officials to advance Russian interests in the United States, including by coordinating meetings for Russian officials to lobby U.S. political officials and businesspersons, and by operating organizations in the United States for the purpose of publicly promoting Russian government policies."
In the press statement, Williams said Branson is alleged to have corresponded with Vladimir Putin himself and met with a high-ranking Russia minister before founding a Russian propaganda center in New York City.
CNN reported that Branson also allegedly exchanged a series of emails with a Russian minister who asked her to organize a meeting in 2016 with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, or his daughter, in New York.
She's also accused of lying to the FBI in September 2020 as it investigated her.
The indictment says, "Branson flew to Moscow, Russia, on or about October 20, 2020, and Branson does not appear to have returned to the United States since that date."
According to the indictment, Branson's boyfriend wired $197,000 to two of Branson's Russian bank accounts between October and November 2020.
The indictment cites an interview Branson did in October 2021 published by RT, formerly known as Russia Today.
During that interview, Branson said she left the United States about a month after the FBI interview because she was scared and thought "the probability was very high" that she would be arrested if she stayed in the United States.
Branson was charged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York with six counts in connection with the alleged spying for Russia.
The counts include acting and conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general, conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, failure to register as an agent of a foreign principal, conspiracy to commit visa fraud and making false statements.
The indictment alleges that in 2016 Branson attempted to arrange meetings for a Russian government official with politicians and business persons in the United States.
It's further alleged that she incorporated the Russian Center of New York to host an annual forum on Russia funded in part by the Russian government.
The indictment said Branson and the RCNY "have received tens of thousands of dollars in funding from the Russian Government and have taken direct orders from Russian officials concerning events and public messaging."
In another overt act of the alleged conspiracy, the U.S. said Branson operated the website Russian Community Council of the USA, making postings to promote "Russian policy positions and viewpoints."
