Feds announce charges against American who ran a Russian ‘propaganda center’

Federal prosecutors unsealed charges Tuesday against a woman who ran what they called a “Russian propaganda center” in New York, trying to inject Moscow’s viewpoint into American politics.

Elena Branson is charged with acting as an unregistered agent for a foreign power, as well as visa fraud and lying to the FBI. The Justice Department said she left the U.S. for Russia in 2020, and remains at large.

Prosecutors said her organization, Russian Center New York, was funded by the Russian government and took direction from high-ranking officials in Moscow. Given those connections, she was supposed to have registered as a foreign lobbyist, the government says.

The Russian Center and another project, the Russian Community Council of the USA, made a particular play for the minds of American youths, with an “I Love Russia” campaign, said Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“Particularly given current global events, the need to detect and hinder attempts at foreign influence is of critical importance, and the Southern District of New York is proud to do its part in the fight against tyranny,” Mr. Williams said.

Ms. Branson, 61, is a native of Russia but holds both Russian and U.S. citizenship.

She started working with the Russian government as far back as 2011, and formed the Russian Center New York in 2012, after corresponding with Vladimir Putin, who at the time was prime minister.

In 2019, Ms. Branson tried to pressure Hawaii not to change the name of a Russian fort on Kauai, prosecutors said.

And they accused her of falsifying information to win travel visas for Russians to enter the U.S.

The charges are the second high-profile case against an alleged Russian helper that has been unsealed amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Last week prosecutors announced charges against an American citizen whom they said worked with a Russian oligarch even though the oligarch was under sanctions. The American worked to set up television networks aimed at spreading pro-Russian viewpoints on behalf of the oligarch, according to court documents.