[NYPost] An all-American ex-cop and pro baseball player allegedly helped hide the Russian ownership of a tech firm to avoid sweeping U.S. sanctions – while it secured more than $2 million in sensitive U.S. federal government contracts, according to court documents.
Lee Reiber, 55, was arrested in Idaho last Sunday after federal prosecutors accused him of helping conceal the Russian ownership and development of Oxygen Forensics, a Virginia-based company that sold forensics software to the Secret Service and other federal agencies.
The U.S. Secret Service confirmed to the California Post that they previously used Oxygen Forensics software but ”immediately discontinued” use in February after security risks were identified by the agency.
Reiber, who followed his LAPD officer father into law enforcement, allegedly became the trusted American face of the company as its Russian owners disappeared from public corporate filings following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Justice Department.
Now, former Oxygen employee-turned-whistleblower Max Weissberg has told The Post how the ex-cop allegedly operated inside a company controlled behind the scenes by Russian nationals – and the chilling series of events that ultimately convinced him something was deeply wrong.
Federal prosecutors allege Reiber falsely represented to government agencies that Oxygen had no foreign ownership or control and that its software was developed in the US.
In reality, the Justice Department says five Russian nationals owned and controlled Oxygen through a Cyprus-based holding company, while its software was developed by a team in Russia.
One of those alleged owners, Russian national Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, 52, was charged alongside Reiber and arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport last Sunday. U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition.
Other Russians associated with the company included Oleg Fedorov and Galina Rabotenko, according to Weissberg, who provided a picture he took that showed the group at an Alexandria bowling alley.
Reporting from Forbes in 2017 identified Fedorov as Oxygen’s CEO. The company provided tools and support to Russian law enforcement, the outlet reported, and Fedorov denied connections to Russian intelligence or the government.
”I know every person and every government has its own goals. I try to stay away as far as I can from their goals and to solve my own,” Fedorov told Forbes.
”With the history of KGB in Russia, it’s complicated, I want to stay as far as I can from them.”
Reiber was initially hired as the company’s COO in 2015 before becoming CEO, president and chairman in March 2022 — weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine and the U.S. imposed expanded sanctions, according to the Justice Department.
But the Russian owners allegedly remained firmly in control behind the scenes, continuing to make significant decisions, setting Reiber’s compensation, overruling him on payments and maintaining signatory authority over company bank accounts, according to the federal complaint.
Weissberg said Reiber, a former Boise cop from 1995 to 2009, had no “final say” on any of the company’s business decisions despite being listed as its CEO since 2022.
Weissberg believed the Russians hired him because he was a trustworthy, clean-cut American figure. The New York Times profiled Reiber in 2006 as a clever cop for his work using cellphone data to help investigate crimes.
Weissberg described Reiber, his former boss, as ”not very intellectual” and said he largely kept to himself.
Most people are not very intellectual. That, however, has nothing to do with intelligence.
Reiber also often pointed out his history as a minor league baseball player with pride, exaggerating how good he was, according to Weissberg.
Weissberg believed him to be an odd choice for Oxygen because he had no management experience and was not based in Alexandria, but in Idaho. But it made sense for the Russians, he said.
”But as a handsome, former cop far from the big city, he had the trust factor,” Weissberg said.
”In my opinion, there is no way the Russian government would allow an important company like Oxygen Forensics to be controlled by an American without direct oversight. Lee is clearly a figurehead, which is what I eye-witnessed as well.”
Reiber was reportedly paid handsomely for his position, with prosecutors saying in the criminal complaint he was paid $250,000 for his role as CEO of the company. Weissberg said Reiber’s daughter, Courtney, also worked at Oxygen.
Prosecutors allege Reiber and Oxygen’s Russian owners understood that public disclosure of the company’s true ownership threatened its lucrative U.S. government business.
He wrote in an email to Davydov and two other Russian owners that public reporting on the connection “could destroy this entire opportunity,” in reference to a pending contract with the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute, and that the “current existence of this company hangs in the balance.”
The institute nevertheless awarded Oxygen a five-year contract in September 2024.
The whistleblower told The Post that the higher-ups at the company would only refer to the Russians as the ”Europeans” in an effort to conceal their nationality. He only found out about this when a former head of sales told him about the euphemism, he said.
Weissberg — who directed Russian action movie ”Karaganda: Red Mafia” which he submitted to the 2024 Moscow Film Festival — later asked Reiber at a staff dinner whether he would ever visit Russia.
He paused and said something to the effect of: “I can’t go there. I’m one of the persons they would arrest.”
The whistleblower said the question seemed to “almost” give Reiber’s wife a ”heart attack.”
Weissberg decided to move on from the company and blow the whistle after what he described as a freak occurrence related to oil company Chevron in October 2025.
He said that he overheard an employee of the company brag about how they convinced Chevron to lower its firewall and other security features to install Oxygen’s forensic software.
A day after the installation, Weissberg said Chevron suffered a major fire at a Californian refinery in El Segundo.
Weissberg said the timing made him question whether the Oxygen installation and the fire could somehow have been connected.
However, he provided no evidence establishing such a link, and the Justice Department’s complaint does not accuse Oxygen’s software of causing the Chevron fire.
The DOJ also explicitly says its criminal complaint does not allege Oxygen software contained malicious code or was used to gain unauthorized access to customers’ computer systems or data.
Oxygen’s CEO continued at the company as federal investigators began catching on.
Prosecutors said Reiber spoke with undercover agents posing as Department of Homeland Security personnel in March of this year and told them that no Russian person had control or interest in the company and that no Russians took part in developing their software.
He then posted a statement on the Oxygen website claiming the same.
Federal investigators allege the opposite, saying Oxygen’s software was written and managed by a team working in Russia under Davydov’s direction.
The company’s website has since been seized.
Reiber also claimed in a defamation lawsuit filed against Weissberg last month — after he went public with his claims that the company had Russian bosses — that Oxygen “does not have employees, contractors, or suppliers in Russia.”
He also added that the company does not sell its products in Russia and is not controlled by the Russian government.
Officials arrested Reiber in Idaho, where he worked as the company’s CEO remotely, on Sunday.
The CEO managed to obtain more than $2 million in contracts from the U.S. government for forensic software, prosecutors said, before he was arrested.
The federal agencies identified in the complaint include the Department of War and three components of the Department of Homeland Security: the Secret Service and its National Computer Forensics Institute, Homeland Security Investigations and the DHS Office of Inspector General.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service said there was ”no evidence” sensitive information was compromised and it was used exclusively in ”air-gapped environments.”
“The U.S. Secret Service uses a variety of forensic tools to conduct its investigative mission,” they told The Post.
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“When using external programs, the agency takes cybersecurity very seriously and is committed to protecting sensitive information,” the agency added. While the Secret Service previously used Oxygen Forensics software, its use was immediately discontinued in February 2026 after security risks were identified by the agency. This program was used exclusively in air-gapped environments and there is no evidence that any sensitive information was compromised.”
If convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Reiber faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Reiber is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles federal court in the coming weeks. U.S. authorities are seeking Davydov’s extradition from Britain after his arrest at Heathrow Airport.
[DM] Putin has resurrected a sinister Cold War nuclear system designed to ensure Russia can unleash a retaliatory strike even if a devastating attack wipes out its leadership.
Hidden beneath a remote mountain in the Ural wilderness in central Russia, a vast underground command centre has been massively expanded in what appears to be a revival of the Soviet Union's notorious 'Dead Hand' nuclear strategy.
The bunker, known as Facility 1335, lies near the tiny village of Kytlym, where soldiers now guard a heavily fortified military complex - hundreds of miles from any city and surrounded by impassable terrain.
The site is part of Russia's 'Perimeter' system - known in the West as Dead Hand - which was designed to preserve the country's ability to retaliate against an enemy even after a catastrophic attack had severed communications with its leadership.
After such an attack, Facility 1335 would transmit radio signals to mobile missile launchers and any other surviving launch silos to retaliate in full force.
Satellite images, construction documents and photographs posted online by Russian soldiers reveal the extraordinary scale of the project.
And experts say the renewed investment suggests the Kremlin is once again placing enormous importance on ensuring its nuclear command infrastructure can survive a major attack. Facility 1335 itself is designed to withstand American bunker-busting bombs.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The decline in interest in bear hunting is leading to bears losing their fear of humans and increasingly approaching people. Pavel Glazkov, a PhD in biology, spoke with Regnum News Agency about this.
According to the expert, the increased frequency of bear attacks is primarily due to the growing predator population. One effective way to control the animal's population is hunting, which has become less popular.
"In recent years, interest in bear hunting among hunters across Russia has been declining, and it's only going to get worse. This is due to several factors. First, bear hunting is expensive. Second, our hunters are getting older. The average age of a hunter is over 50," Glazkov noted.
The biologist added that bears are most often hunted for trophies, and most hunters over 50 have already harvested their pelts. Bear meat has a distinctive flavor, so not everyone eats it.
"Hunting isn't just about population control, although that's a significant factor. When a bear is hunted, it begins to fear humans. A bear should fear humans. If a bear starts wandering around constantly, it means it's not afraid of humans and considers itself the master of the territory. This is an extremely dangerous situation," Glazkov pointed out.
The agency's source reminded that a separate license is required for each bear hunt. In cities and towns located within hunting areas, the predator problem is quickly resolved. It is much more difficult to deal with the animals in populated areas located within specially protected natural areas.
"Specially protected natural areas include nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, natural monuments, and national parks. Obtaining a hunting permit in a specially protected natural area is extremely bureaucratic. It takes months. Bears often run amok in these protected areas. The bear understands that they are not being hunted here, and that no one is bothering them," Glazkov concluded.
Zoologist and game warden Mikhail Krechmar previously told Regnum News Agency that the solution to the problem of conflict bears would be to return to the practice of culling them on a voluntary basis. He added that to effectively control bear populations, it is necessary to create conditions for the more rapid elimination of animals that pose a danger to humans.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 21.49 Russian troops used 277 strike drones of various types against Ukraine in the past 24 hours, 155 of which were jet-powered. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported this on Facebook.
"Today alone and in Kyiv alone, Russian jet drones 'defeated' two kindergartens and two schools, an ordinary residential building, a service station, several warehouses and communication facilities," the head of state noted.
He added that the Russians had no military goal. Therefore, absolutely anywhere in the world, such a choice of targets would be described in one word - terrorism.
"This is exclusively an attempt to break people and hurt our society as much as possible. Unfortunately, there are deaths... My condolences to the relatives and friends. Dozens of people were injured. In total, since yesterday, the Russians have used 277 strike drones of various types, 155 of them are jet," the president emphasized.
Also among the damaged facilities is a house used as the residence of the Saudi Arabian ambassador.
21.17 One person was injured in Kyiv as a result of evening Russian shelling. The details of the attack were reported by the State Emergency Service.
20.26 The Kremlin stated that Ukraine's use of the Starlink satellite internet to strike targets deep inside Russia "could have dangerous consequences." This was stated by the spokesman for the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.
19.59 Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, special envoy of Pope Leo XIV and head of the Italian Bishops' Conference, is leaving for Moscow to discuss the humanitarian problems caused by the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. Zuppi himself told TASS on Sunday, September 27.
The cardinal is expected to hold several meetings in the Russian capital from September 28 to 30.
"I'm leaving today. Meetings with representatives of the Russian authorities are scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday," Zuppi said. According to him, this visit is part of a humanitarian mission, which was first entrusted to him by Pope Francis and later confirmed by Pontiff Leo XIV.
19:46 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on the important results of Ukrainian defense forces in the Lyman direction as part of Operation Vivaldi.
Currently, the destruction of Russians in the declared direction is ongoing, and the specified goals are being achieved.
"In total, during this week, in all areas of active operations at the front, our units neutralized 10,660 Russian soldiers, killed and wounded. And each such Russian loss is accompanied by video confirmation," the head of state noted.
The most intense fighting is taking place in the areas of Pokrovsky, Kostyantynivskyi and Lymanskyi directions. Tasks are being carried out in Zaporizhia, Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
18.09 Ukrainian authorities have been delivering food to occupied Oleshki on the left bank of the Dnieper since March 2026. About 2,000 Ukrainians are blocked there, including almost 50 children. This was reported by the head of the OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin.
Recently, Ukrainian military and border guards conducted one of the largest such operations. They delivered about 4,000 kg of food to the city and distributed it to 100 designated locations.
"Instead of loud statements, we have chosen the path of concrete actions. Starting in March, together with a unit of the 11th NGU brigade and the defenders of the 34th separate marine brigade of Borysfen, we have been systematically delivering food across the Dnieper using drones," Prokudin noted.
16:47 Russian troops struck a non-residential building in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv during the day, the city military administration reported .
"A 4-story non-residential building was hit in the Holosiivskyi district," the report said.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the city, Vitaliy Klitschko, clarified that preliminary reports indicate that an administrative building was hit. He added that emergency services are currently on their way to the scene.
Meanwhile, in the Darnytsia district, a UAV hit a 9-story residential building. Information about the victims is being clarified.
12.59 On the morning of September 27, Russian troops twice struck a data center in Kyiv. Two children were among the victims. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
12.38 On September 26 and the night of September 27, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine struck a number of important military facilities of the enemy. As reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces, a place for storing, preparing and launching attack UAVs was struck in Donetsk.
11.36 Near Kyiv in Vyshneve, a Russian drone hit a road with cars, social media reports. The strike occurred at around 11 a.m.
11.16 As a result of enemy shelling, air quality has deteriorated in several cities in the Kyiv region, residents of Obukhov and Brovary are advised not to open their windows until the situation improves, reports the Kyiv OVA.
10.56 Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov expressed hope that a new prisoner exchange could take place as early as next week.
10.16 The Ukrainian military is preparing for a large-scale launch of interceptor drones within several months. This was announced by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov
9.55 After the attack of Russian drones on the morning of September 27, a large-scale fire broke out near Brovary, local media report. As is known, the warehouses of the transport company Zammler are on fire. The company has already confirmed that the warehouse was destroyed as a result of the attack by the Russian Federation. At the same time, no people were injured.
It was Zammler that delivered 1,570 Starlink terminals to Ukraine from the Polish government in November 2022.
9.37 A man died in a drone attack in the Solomyanskyi district of Kyiv on September 27. Fires also broke out after the hits, the press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reports.
8.59 On the night of September 27, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 170 attack drones. Air defense forces managed to shoot down most of the enemy drones, but there were hits. This is reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8.36 In temporarily occupied Luhansk, drones carried out a strike on one of the occupiers' facilities. This was reported by the monitoring public Exilenova+.
7.59 The first meeting of the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia since the start of the full-scale war ended without any noticeable convergence of positions. Berlin called on Moscow to declare a complete ceasefire in Ukraine and refrain from further escalation, but the Russian side effectively rejected these calls, The Guardian reports.
7.39 In the Solomyanskyi district of Kyiv, a fire was recorded in an office building due to a UAV crash.
04.25 Russian troops attacked houses in the village of Komyshuvakha and a car in Novotavriyske, Zaporizhia region. Three people were killed and four others were injured as a result of the enemy strike.
02.20 During Saturday, September 26, 23 people were injured and two more people died in Sumy due to Russian strikes with guided aerial bombs
01.22 A fire broke out in Solomyanskyi district at night due to an enemy drone hitting a warehouse building. In the evening, a five-story residential building was damaged in Solomyanskyi district, and a fire broke out in a non-residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 20:21 Drone operators of the 51st Army of the Center group inflicted strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces logistics facilities. 20:16 During the day, from 8:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 43 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type flew over the territories of the Kursk, Belgorod, Oryol, Bryansk and Rostov regions, the Republic of Crimea, as well as over the Black Sea.
17:55 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to strike at communications and logistics centers, as well as sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This afternoon, the following were hit by drone strikes:
in Kyiv:
data processing center of Omega Telecom, one of the largest companies providing high-speed Internet services for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including storage of large volumes of databases;
data processing center of the Kyivstar company, one of the largest companies providing mobile communications and high-speed Internet services for the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
in Odessa:
The Nova Poshta logistics center, which stored military cargo.
In addition, a dry cargo ship was damaged during sea passage, delivering military equipment and dual-use cargo to the port of Odessa to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
17:33 Crew of the Molniya-2 strike UAVs of the Dnepr force group destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces drone control center.
15:40 In the area of the settlement of Grunovka in the Sumy region, the Severian drone destroyed vehicle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
15:13 T-80BV tank crews worked out using reconnaissance coordinates and destroying camouflaged Ukrainian Armed Forces UAV control points in the Zaporizhzhia region.
12:10 Guided FABs hit militants of the 475th separate regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Svitlichnoye, video.
10:41 Units of the North group of forces took control over the village of Khripuny in the Khar'kov region.
09:24 Chief of the Pantsir-S air defense missile and gun system crew, call sign "Barnaul" told about aerial combat.
08:43 During the past night, in the period from 20:00 Moscow time on September 26 to 8:00 Moscow time on September 27, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 96 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk regions, the Republic of Crimea and over the Black Sea.
08:33 Tonight, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued application strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles on logistics centers, port and transport infrastructure facilities, communications centers, and sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As a result of the strikes, the following were damaged:
in Kyiv – the data processing center of the Vodafone company, which is one of the largest companies providing mobile communications and high-speed Internet services for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including for the transmission of intelligence data;
in the Kyiv region – the Zalmer Group logistics center in Krasilovka, on the territory of which Western military aid was stored and distributed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces;
In Nikolaev there are two warehouses for unmanned aerial vehicles and combat parts for them;
in the Odessa region – the Drone Kalinsh logistics center in Illichivka, on the territory of which FPV interceptors were stored;
In the port of Kiliya: the headquarters of the Vostok naval base of the Ukrainian Navy, the base of the State Border Service of Ukraine, four storage facilities with military equipment intended for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and berthing infrastructure facilities.
In addition, a dry cargo vessel was hit during the sea crossing, delivering military equipment and dual-use cargo to the port of Odessa to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
07:32 Changes onmapover the past 24 hours:
Advance at Olkhovatka (+12.5 km2)
Maryino was liberated (+8.5 km2)
Petropavlovka was liberated (+23.6 km2)
Lozovaya was liberated (+6.8 km2)
Advance south of Goptovka (+0.9 km2)
06:31 Servicemen of the 6th Guards Tank Regiment of the Center groupare working oncontrol of motor vehicles (rear area of the SVO zone).
[NYPost] A squad of Ukrainian “kamikaze ground robots” airdropped behind enemy lines have taken out 3,000 Russian soldiers and reclaimed 48 square miles of occupied territory in Donetsk, officials announced.
The secretive mission, dubbed “Operation Vivaldi,” began in May and wrapped up last week, when the Third Army Corps of the Ukraine’s Armed Forces made details of the feat public.
“An historic moment,” it boasted on Telegram Thursday. “The Third Army Corps has begun a new stage of the war with the landing of ground robots.”
The operation recaptured five villages and three settlements in the contested region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, one of the two provinces that make up the industrial mineral-rich Donbas that tyrant Vladimir Putin wants to seize.
Russia currently occupies about 80% of Donetsk.
“We’re the first in the world to use this tactic — dropping ground robots,” Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the Third Army Corps, said on YouTube.
Bomber drones were used to drop the small but mighty unmanned ground vehicles, or UGVs, up to 9 miles behind the Russian frontline.
Cameras mounted atop the four-wheeled robots captured the surprise operation.
The unit completed more than 15,700 missions, targeting Russian command posts, shelters, logistics hubs and river crossings.
“The enemy expects the threat from the sky, not the ground,” Biletskyi said. “Where the enemy least expected it, dead and wounded Russian soldiers appeared.”
[FOX] Finnish and Swedish fighter jets scrambled for the first time on Sept. 24 to intercept supersonic Russian military aircraft flying over the Gulf of Finland, marking a major milestone in Nordic defense cooperation amid heightened tensions with Moscow.
The mission also came one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European warnings about the threat from Moscow in the region and mocked Estonia's new defense minister over the Baltic state's preparations for a potential Russian attack.
Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and Swedish JAS 39 Gripens were scrambled after Russian aircraft were detected in the international airspace, according to the Swedish Armed Forces.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
