A 35-year-old Russian woman, Nomma Zarubina, has received a 14-month prison sentence in Manhattan federal court after admitting to misleading the FBI about her connections to Russia’s intelligence service and committing naturalization fraud related to a prostitution operation.
The judge rejected prosecutors’ request for a stiffer penalty of 18 to 24 months, despite their arguments that Zarubina’s actions obstructed a critical investigation into foreign influence. Court filings revealed that Zarubina claimed she had cooperated with authorities, including sharing information with the CIA, but prosecutors described her behavior as deceptive and obstructive.
Prosecutors stated that Zarubina lied during a sensitive probe into malign foreign activities. They noted she operated a prostitution business for several years and deliberately omitted this from her citizenship application. Furthermore, after being released on bail, she allegedly harassed and threatened the lead investigator, resulting in her incarceration last December for cyber-stalking.
The FBI’s interest in Zarubina began in 2020 through her work with Elena Branson, a dual Russian-U.S. citizen who fled to Russia after authorities searched her New York apartment. Branson has been charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent and remains at large. Her organization, the Russian Center New York, is accused of serving as a Kremlin propaganda outlet, where Zarubina was a policy advisor and webmaster.
While many case details are classified, the sentencing memorandum offered insights into the investigation. According to the document, Zarubina, assigned the codename “Alyssa” by FSB handlers, attended the 2021 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum to identify journalists who might provide favorable coverage of Russia. The memo included photos of Zarubina alongside individuals described as intelligence targets.