An American technology executive allegedly helped Russian nationals conceal their ownership of a digital forensics company, allowing the business to pursue lucrative United States government contracts.
One of those deals involved an institute operated by the Secret Service.
Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that Oxygen Forensics CEO Lee Reiber, 52, allegedly worked with Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, 52, a Russian national based in Moscow.
Authorities described [1] an alleged scheme to hide the company’s Russian connections while marketing its software to American agencies.
Reiber, an American, and Davydov have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Reiber was arrested in Idaho, appeared in an Idaho court this week, and is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles federal court in the coming weeks.
The alleged deception could have provided Russian agents a foothold inside a company supplying technology to government customers.
Oxygen’s software is used to “recover, preserve, and analyze electronic data from digital devices,” according to the source material.
Prosecutors allege Reiber told the United States government that the company, based in Alexandria, Virginia, was not owned by Russians.
He also allegedly represented that Russian nationals played no role in developing the company’s software.
Davydov and four other Russian nationals allegedly owned Oxygen Forensics through a holding company in Cyprus.
The software, which was developed in Russia, previously had been sold to the Russian Federal Security Service, the Russian Investigative Committee and the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Davydov developed the software and founded the Virginia company in 2013.
Reiber joined the business in 2015 and was later installed as CEO after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the complaint, the Russian owners then used Reiber as the American face of Oxygen while concealing their ownership from public corporate filings.
Prosecutors allege Reiber held the top title, but the Russian owners retained considerable control behind the scenes.
The Russians “continued to make significant decisions and set Reiber’s compensation, overruled him on payments, and held signatory authority over the company’s bank accounts.”
That arrangement hardly matches the image of an independent American executive calling the shots.
Reiber allegedly told the United States government in December 2022 and again in October 2023 that Oxygen had no “immediate or highest-level owner.”
A reporter questioned him about the company’s Russian ties one month after the second certification.
Investigators uncovered emails in which Reiber allegedly warned Davydov and two other Russian owners that the resulting reporting “could destroy this entire opportunity” to conduct business with the United States government.
He also wrote that the “current existence of this company hangs in the balance.”
Reiber was concerned about losing a contract with the government’s National Computer Forensics Institute.
The institute, which is operated by the Secret Service, ultimately awarded Oxygen a five-year contract for its Russian-developed software in September 2024.
The award file included Reiber’s certification that Oxygen did not have an “immediate or highest-level owner.”
Reiber also certified to the Department of War in July 2024 “that no foreign person had the power to control the appointment of the company’s directors or managers or to direct its other decisions or activities.”
WATCH:
Here is the story of how I (the whistleblower) exposed Oxygen Forensics’ FSB control and saved the US gov from Russian hackers and Russian malware.
America, you’re welcome.
Of course I pitched this to the NY Post six months ago and they didn’t believe me. This video created a… pic.twitter.com/EvPlaQ48si [2]
— KaragandaFilm (@FilmKaraganda) September 24, 2026 [3]
In March 2026, Reiber made a broader certification to the Department of Homeland Security.
He certified “that no Russian was involved in developing the software and that no one in Russia had access to the environment in which it was built.”
Oxygen’s website similarly stated that the company had “no development presence in any restricted jurisdiction.”
Prosecutors allege those claims clashed with the company’s actual ownership and software development ties.
The complaint specifically says it does not allege that the “software contained malicious code or that it was used to gain unauthorized access to any customer’s computer systems or data.”
The federal allegations instead focus on the ownership structure, Russian involvement, and representations made to the government.
United States authorities are seeking to bring Davydov back from Britain after he was arrested Sunday at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Reiber and Davydov each face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.