Mueller indicted the Internet Research Agency and two individual defendants of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. He also accused the company and four individual defendants of aggravated identity theft.
Defendants tried to hide the origin of their operations
In 2014, two of the Russian nationals allegedly traveled to the U.S. to collect intelligence for their American political influence operations. The defendants allegedly purchase space on computer servers in the U.S. to hide the Russian origin of their activities.
The defendants set up a virtual private network to create hundreds of accounts on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They used stolen or fictitious American identities, fraudulent bank accounts, and false identification documents.
In addition, the Russian defendants posed as politically and socially active Americans advocating for and against a particular candidate. They acted as grassroots activists.
Furthermore, they recruited and paid real Americans to engage in political activities, promote political campaigns, and stage political rallies. The Americans did not know that they were dealing with Russians, according to the indictment filed by Mueller.
