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Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced on September 23 that they have charged the chief executive of Oxygen Forensics and a Russian co-owner with hiding the company's Russian ownership from US agencies that bought its software. Lee Reiber, 55, of Boise, Idaho, and Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, 52, of Moscow, each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the Justice Department.
Reiber was arrested in Idaho on Sunday and released on bond. Davydov was detained the same day at London Heathrow Airport before he could board a flight to Istanbul, and the US plans to seek his extradition. A magistrate judge also authorized the seizure of corporate bank accounts and about 57 domains, which agents took down on September 20.
Oxygen Forensics, based in Alexandria, Virginia, makes software that recovers and analyzes data from phones and other devices. According to the affidavit, its government buyers included the Department of War and three parts 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.
Prosecutors say five Russian nationals, including Davydov, owned and controlled the company through a holding company in Cyprus. After the US expanded sanctions following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Reiber was installed as CEO and the Russian owners were removed from public filings. The complaint alleges they kept signing authority over the bank accounts and continued to set Reiber's pay.
The same owners ran a Russian company, now called MKO Systems, that sold the software under different product names. Its customers reportedly included the FSB, Russia's Investigative Committee and its Ministry of Internal Affairs. The code itself was written by a team in Russia under Davydov's direction, according to the complaint.
The case centers on paperwork. Prosecutors say Reiber falsely certified in December 2022 and October 2023 that the company had no immediate or highest-level owner. When a reporter asked about the Russian link in November 2023, Reiber allegedly warned the owners that coverage "could destroy this entire opportunity," a reference to a pending contract with the forensics institute. That five-year deal was awarded in September 2024. As recently as March 2026, Reiber told DHS staff that no Russian was involved in building the software.
The Justice Department said the complaint does not allege that the software contained malicious code or was used to access customer systems without permission. Each man faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The Record noted that Oxygen is a direct competitor of Cellebrite, the better-known maker of phone extraction tools used by police and intelligence agencies. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is leading the investigation.
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