A Russian national and an Uzbek national, both residing in Florida, were arrested for their alleged participation in a scheme to submit false and fraudulent voter registration applications to the Pinellas County, Florida, Supervisor of Elections.
According to court filings, Dmitry Shushlebin, 45, a citizen of Russia living in Miami Beach, and Sanjar Jamilov, 33, a citizen of Uzbekistan living in St. Petersburg, conspired to submit 132 fraudulent voter registration applications to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections in February and March 2023. These applications were submitted in names other than their own, in envelopes with return and address labels that were identically formatted, including containing the same typographical error, and bore various indicia of fraud including, among other things, repeating dates of birth and addresses and nearly sequential social security numbers. Change of address forms were also submitted to the U.S. Postal Service to route mail to the names and addresses on the fraudulent applications to three locations that Shushlebin and Jamilov allegedly controlled.
Shushlebin and Jamilov are each charged with one count of conspiring to submit fraudulent voter registration applications and give false information in registering to vote. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, Acting Inspector in Charge Steven Hodges of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Fodor of the FBI Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
USPIS, FBI, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are investigating the case. This case began after a referral from the Florida Department of State, Office of Election Crime and Security.
Trial Attorney Leo J. Wise of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Marcet for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Updated February 3, 2025
Source: https://www.justice.gov/ , MIDTOWN TRIBUNE