A Russian citizen living in Brooklyn is accused of secretly taking orders from her home country’s intelligence apparatus to cultivate relationships with “useful” Americans, such as journalists and military personnel, who could eventually be converted to “the ‘Russian way of thinking.’”
Nomma Zarubina, 34, was recruited in December 2020 by Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, and assigned the codename “Alyssa,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. The filing says she initially caught the FBI’s attention after becoming aware of her ties to a suspected Russian spy now on the lam in Moscow. Zarubina allegedly signed a work agreement with the FSB and kept in regular touch with her handler back home, and then lied to FBI agents about that contact. Lying to the FBI is a felony.
