Spies Microchips And Night Lights The Story Of An Alleged Russian Smuggling Ring In A Nh Town.

Federal authorities have also arrested two other alleged conspirators, including one in Estonia last week and a second in New Jersey on Tuesday. Daria and Alexey Brayman of Merrimack, NHFacebook Prosecutors allege the Brayman home was a clearinghouse for expensive semiconductors, oscilloscopes and other items bound for Russia, items experts say are commonly used in weapons systems, including those used in the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine. Federal charging documents obtained by the Globe describe a plot straight out of the TV series “The Americans,” about KGB agents raising a family near Washington, DC. As the Braymans lived a seemingly quintessential American lifestyle — attending Celtics games, vacationing in Florida, visiting local arts festivals — Alexey Bryman allegedly received a steady stream of “advanced electronics and sophisticated test equipment used in quantum computing, hypersonic and nuclear weapons development, and other military and space military applications,” according to the indictment, which was unsealed in the Eastern District of New York. These items, the researchers argued, “could contribute significantly to the military capabilities or proliferation of other nations’ nuclear weapons, or could be detrimental to . . . national security of the United States”. Alexey Brayman at a Celtics game at TD Garden. Facebook To avoid U.S. export sanctions, prosecutors say, members of the ring shipped the equipment piecemeal to Alexey Brayman’s home in Merrimack using shell companies headed by Russian businessmen and associates. Brayman, authorities allege, would then forward the equipment to Germany and Estonia, “common transshipment points for items ultimately destined for Russia.” The accused smugglers have been on the radar of federal investigators for some time, according to documents. In early October, a federal judge authorized an extensive FBI search of the Merrimack home, including computers and cell phones, according to a copy of the search warrant application obtained by the Globe. FBI agents specializing in espionage and counterintelligence activity later raided the home. On Tuesday morning, federal authorities unsealed a 16-count indictment, naming Bryman, Yevgeny Grinin, Alexei Ipolitov, Boris Livsich, Svetlana Skvortsova, Vadim Konochenko and Vadim Yermolenko. They allegedly played various roles in the scheme and are charged with conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling and bank and wire fraud. Konoshchenok was arrested and taken into custody in Estonia, while Yermolenko was arrested and taken into custody Tuesday morning in Upper Saddle River, NJ, authorities added. “The Department of Justice and our international partners will not tolerate criminal schemes to enhance the war effort of the Russian military,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “With three of the defendants now in custody, we have disrupted the supply network allegedly used by the defendants and Russian intelligence services to traffic sniper rifle ammunition and sensitive electronic components into Russia.” The arrests come as the war in Ukraine approaches its 10th month, outpacing Russia’s initial projections and depleting the country’s stockpile of weapons and microelectronics. The Kremlin’s ability to sustain the offensive now depends in part on its access to Western electronics that are harder than ever to obtain under current US sanctions. Meanwhile, the relationship between the United States and Russia remains fraught. Just last week, the countries carried out a high-risk prisoner swap: Victor Butt, the notorious Russian arms dealer nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner, who had been arrested in Russia for allegedly carrying vapor cans of hemp oil. The home at 30 Ellie Drive in Merrimack, NHJim Davis/Globe Staff One weekday afternoon in late November, delivery men piled packages of various sizes on the Braymans’ front porch with the garland. A security camera peered inconspicuously from its perch above the front door. When she rang the doorbell, Daria Braiman greeted a Globe reporter wearing bright blue socks that read “Fun City.” When she learned the reason for the visit, she stepped out onto the front porch and quickly pulled the door shut behind her. She initially invited a reporter to return later to speak with her husband, who she said was not at home, before later saying she would have to consult her lawyer. Asked about allegations that her husband was using their home to funnel sensitive material to Russia, however, Breiman denied knowledge of anything illegal. “We do craft festivals and fairs,” she explained, an obvious reference to the family’s night light company. The pair’s online profiles suggest they would be unlikely partners in the Russian war machine. On his Facebook page, Alexey Brayman lists his hometown as the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and court records list him as an Israeli citizen. He also once posted a clip featuring Ukrainian artists on “America’s Got Talent,” drawing attention to the long-standing conflict with Russia. Last spring, while war supplies were reportedly being smuggled through their home, Daria Bryman used her Facebook page to advertise her donations to a charity that provides “life-saving medical and humanitarian aid to affected Ukrainians from the Russian military invasion”. For decades, experts said, Russia has relied on a discreet network of agents to procure illicit materials that the country struggles to produce itself, such as high-end electronic components used for combat and defense. However, the battle to acquire such goods has taken on an added urgency in recent years as tensions over Russia’s 2014 annexation Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine in February led to an extensive list of banned exports aimed at stifling Russia’s access to vital Western-made goods. The materials at the heart of the Merrimack case—semiconductors—are known as dual-use technologies. While they are ubiquitous in everyday objects such as PlayStations and motor vehicles, the tiny chips are also vital to the production of weapons systems such as the ballistic missile that struck a maternity hospital in southern Ukraine in November, killing a newborn child. “You need these things to hit very specific targets, like a power station or a hospital,” James Byrne, director at the Royal United Services Institute, told the Globe in an interview. They are “a very important part of how Russia conducts a war.” Despite the institution of sweeping sanctions—as well as the insistence by American officials that they have had a crippling effect on Russia’s war effort—there is no doubt that American-made materials have continued to flow into Russia. Researchers have found hundreds of electronics made by US-based companies in Russian weapons systems recovered from Ukraine, according to a report released by Reuters and the Royal United Services Institute in August. “Russia [has] a lot of expertise in getting these parts — they’ve had a long history of doing that, and it’s something they take very seriously,” said Nick Reynolds, a co-author of the report and a research analyst at the institute. “The people who do this are valuable assets.” The Braymans arrived in this town of 26,000, perhaps best known for its long-running barbecue rib festival, in 2019. arrangement in a well-kept house at the end of a quiet street popular with joggers and dog walkers. Those who knew the couple described them as friendly, if private. Few who spoke to the Globe in recent weeks acknowledged knowing the Braymans personally. But public records, as well as the couple’s social media activity, offer a glimpse into the lives they built after arriving in the United States more than a decade ago. Posts from Alexey Brayman’s Facebook page a decade ago full of thoughts about sex, women and gambling: in one photo, he poses behind the wheel of a convertible. in another, between a pair of scantily clad women, smiling slyly. However, he appeared to take a more domestic tone after marrying Daria in 2015. He posted pictures of their dinner dates and family vacations in St. Augustine, Florida and Israel, where the pair ate sushi and posed with giraffes in Haifa. “Nice victory in overtime! Celtics #BleedGreen,” he wrote in a Facebook post in January, along with a photo taken near the court at TD Garden. His wife also seems to have assimilated smoothly into American life. Her LinkedIn profile suggests she spent her early career working for a pipe company in the Russian city of Kopeisk. She later earned a master’s degree in professional communication from Clark University in Worcester in 2012, according to her online resume. She then went to work as a project manager at inSegment, a Newton-based digital marketing firm, according to the resume. Daria Brayman has not been charged with a crime. In 2016, according to state records, Alexey Brayman started a business, Cool Houz LLC, specializing in personalized night lights — emblazoned with dolphins, ballerinas and the Boston Bruins — that Walmart would eventually bring online. The scheme, as described in the indictment, was extensive. The Globe also obtained a search warrant…