BOISE, Idaho — A software CEO from Boise has been federally indicted for withholding his company's foreign ties from the U.S. government.
Lee Reiber, 55, was named the CEO, president, and chairman of a firm called Oxygen Forensics Inc. in March 2022. According to Reiber's Amazon author page, he's also a former member of the Boise Police Department.
The company had been awarded a five-year contract through the National Computer Forensics Institute, after Reiber had affirmed no foreign affiliations. They'd been seeking other federal contracts as well with the likes of the U.S. Departments of War and Homeland Security.
According to prosecutors, though, the firm was in fact owned and controlled by Russian nationals, including alleged co-conspirator, 52-year-old Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, of Moscow.
The software itself was also reportedly developed in Russia, and not the U.S. as Reiber purported.
While the feds do not suggest any of the software contained malicious code allowing for unauthorized access to the country's computer systems or data, the duo is accused of willfully concealing information that could've prevented them from receiving the contracts.
This all came about after the United States imposed expanded sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
At the time, Davydov and Reiber agreed to conceal the company's true ownership, resulting in Reiber being named chairman of the board despite lacking the authority to make significant decisions related to the firm's bank accounts.
Reiber is currently free on bond. He's scheduled to be arraigned at a later date in Los Angeles. The U.S. is looking to have Davydov extradited from Russia.
If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
