Freight forwarding manager sentenced for violating U.S. export controls

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Mazulina attempted to conceal the scheme by submitting, and causing the submission of, false export documents to the U.S. government. According to prosecutors, the documents omitted that the goods were ultimately destined for Russia.

Court filings also referenced a June 2023 communication in which Mazulina allegedly told colleagues that her clients were paying through bank accounts in third-party countries because “Most of [her] clients [were] currently sanctioned with USA.”

U.S. attorney says office will continue pursuing export control violations

“The Russian oil and gas industry is the lifeblood that fuels the Russian war machine,” United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. “This defendant put her own profits above the national security of the United States by conspiring to illegally export industrial oil and gas equipment to Russia. Our Office will continue to use all our law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute those who evade export control laws.”

“Natalya Mazulina bolstered Russia’s military capabilities and jeopardized our country’s security by violating U.S. export regulations,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said. “The FBI maintains its unwavering commitment to quash threat actors who exploit American companies to support adversarial agendas of hostile nations.”

Case began with a 12-count indictment

According to the December 2024 indictment, Mazulina was charged with conspiracy to export controlled goods to Russia without a license, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, exporting controlled goods to Russia without a license, filing false export documents with the U.S. government and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law.

The case concluded with Mazulina’s guilty plea to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. According to the 2024 indictment, the investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force established to enforce sanctions, export controls and other economic countermeasures imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Skurnik prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s New York Field Office and the Office of Export Enforcement’s Boston Field Office, with assistance from other federal agencies and U.S. Attorney’s Offices, according to the Justice Department.

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phillip Brink.

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