Grand Jury Indicts Two Scientists For Obtaining Government Research Contracts By Fraud

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Mahmoud Aldissi, a/k/a “Matt,”(62) and Anastassia Bogomolova, a/k/a “Anastasia,” (51), both of Pinellas County, Florida, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and falsification of records in a federal investigation. If convicted on all counts, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The Indictment also notifies the individuals that, among other specified property, the United States is also seeking a money judgment in the amount of $10,000,000, which reflects the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

According to the indictment, through their two companies, Fractal Systems, Inc., and Smart Polymers Research Corp., Aldissi and Bogomolova fraudulently obtained approximately $10,000,000 worth of research contracts from the federal government. It is alleged that from in or about 2004 through in or about May 2014, in order to be awarded contracts, the charged individuals submitted proposals using the stolen identities of real people in order to create false endorsements of and for their proposed contracts. In addition, Aldissi and Bogmolova proposed identity theft victims as consultants and subcontractors without their knowledge and without actually using them on those contracts. It is further alleged that, in the proposals, the defendants also lied about their facilities, costs, about the principal investigator on some of the contracts, and certifications in the proposal.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Office of the Inspector General (NASA-OIG), the Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU) of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (Army CID), National Science Foundation’s Office of the Inspector General (NSF-OIG), the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General (EPA-OIG), the Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General (DOE-OIG), the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (DHS-OIG), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas N. Palermo.