Two more charged in connection with FBI raid at north Raleigh mansion
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect information provided by Elliot Abrams, the attorney for Alexey Timofeef and Olesya Timofeeva, about his clients' relationship to Leonid Teyf.
RALEIGH — Two additional people are charged in connection to an FBI raid at a multi-million dollar Raleigh mansion, according to documents obtained by WRAL News.
On Dec. 5, the home of Leonid and Tatyana Teyf, at 6510 New Market Way, was raided by FBI agents.
During a federal court appearance on Dec. 6, Leonid Teyf was charged with money laundering, conspiracy in a series of money laundering, aiding and abetting in money laundering, bribery of a public official, murder for hire and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Tatyana Teyf was charged with money laundering, conspiracy in a series of money laundering and aiding and abetting in money laundering.
In total, the couple was indicted on 29 combined charges.
According to recently unsealed indictments, investigators say the couple profited off a $150 million kickback scheme involving a contract with the Russian military to purchase their multi-million dollar mansion.
Bank transactions also show the couple bought nearly $400,000 worth of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and spent $2.5 million on artwork from a New York gallery.
Authorities said that since December 2010, the couple has opened at least 70 financial accounts at four different banks, and wire transfers show money coming into the couple's bank accounts from countries known to launder money, including Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and Seychelles.
New documents show that Alexey Vladimirovich Timofeev and his wife, Olesya Yuryevna Timofeeva, are now charged in connection with the case.
Timofeeva is charged with one count of conspiracy to harbor aliens. Timofeev is charged with seven counts of money laundering/spending laundered money and one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. Both were arrested in Illinois and are awaiting extradition.
The newly unsealed documents state that Timofeev worked for Leonid Teyf as the president of CTK Transportation Inc., a business used in the money laundering scheme. Timofeeva also did work for one of Teyf’s companies, but wasn’t charged with financial crimes.
In February 2018, Leonid Teyf told a confidential source that he believed his wife had been involved in a romantic relationship with the son of his housekeeper. Teyf told the informant that he wanted to pay someone to get the son to talk and then have the son overdose on drugs.
Teyf then said he wanted the son deported because, if he was back in Russia, “he would be buried already."
Teyf went on to tell the informant that he wanted the son "kidnapped, taken into the woods, forced to admit to having sex with Tatyana Teyf on video then to be killed," an affidavit states.
In March 2017 and April 2018, John Patrick Cotter, a lifelong friend and business associate of Leonid Teyf's, met with agents with the Department of Homeland Security to persuade them to investigate the son for either a fraudulent marriage or firearms possession.
On May 23, 2018, Leonid Teyf and Cotter met with a DHS special agent at a restaurant in Raleigh. During that meeting, Cotter suggested that Teyf could provide a boat, vehicle or cash as an incentive to investigate. They also agreed to pay the special agent $25,000 for an "investigation that would result in the arrest and deportation" of the son.
Cotter then helped Teyf provide a $10,000 down payment, promising that once the son was deported, the agent would get an additional $15,000.
Teyf and Cotter also met with the special agent in July and August. At each meeting, the arrest and deportation of the son was discussed. Cotter has not yet been formally charged.
On Wednesday, Alexei Polyakov was in federal court for a detention hearing. He is charged with lying about his criminal past and making false statements on a naturalization application.
If convicted, Leonid Teyf would face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison. Tatyana Teyf, Timofeev, Timofeeva, and Polyakov would face maximum penalties of 10 years in prison. The government will also seek to seize over $39 million in assets from the defendants, and each defendant will likely face the prospect of removal from the United States after their terms of imprisonment, according to an indictment.
