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Plea and sentencing hearing set for Russian in F-16 manuals smuggling case

By Mark Shenefelt standard-Examiner - | Jun 14, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY — A change-of-plea and sentencing hearing has been scheduled for a Russian citizen accused of smuggling F-16 technical manuals to his nation and other countries.

Oleg Mikhaylovich Tishchenko, who was extradited from Eastern Europe and held in the Weber County Jail in Ogden pending trial, will appear in U.S. District Court Wednesday before Judge Dale Kimball.

An August jury trial has been canceled and Tishchenko will enter a new plea, according to online court records. He earlier pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring against the United States, smuggling and violating the Arms Export Control Act.

Screenshot
Lockheed Martin Corp.

Cover page of a 1996 manufacturer’s technical manual for the F-16 fighter.

An indictment said Tishchenko, 42, used an intermediary to buy F-16 fighter jet technical manuals that were for sale on eBay and ship them to him in Moscow.

Homeland Security agents said they obtained eBay records and learned that Tishchenko, from January 2012 through September 2015, auctioned F-16 flight manuals to buyers in Cyprus, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Taiwan.

Tishchenko, who identified himself on eBay as a developer for the Moscow-based Eagle Dynamics video game company, assured his intermediary there was no legal problem because the manuals were “obsolete.”

He only wanted to get manuals to “understand how stuff works” for implementing various fighters into the company’s Digital Combat Simulation World game, according to the indictment.

The man also inquired about obtaining F-35 and F-22 manuals, the indictment said.

Tishchenko is represented by the Federal Defender’s Office in Salt Lake City.

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