Here's What The '13 Russians' Were Indicted For

Thirteen Russians were indicted on Friday as part of the sweeping Russian 2016 election meddling investigation. None of the 13 individuals named in the indictment were well-known oligarchs or affiliated with any Russian corporation. Russian stocks continued to trade lower in the mid-afternoon hours, regardless.

The Russians were part of a company called the Internet Research Agency, which Special Counsel Robert Mueller described as a "Russian organization engaged in operations to interfere with elections and political processes." The individuals were indicted on two counts and -- if upheld -- the defendants will be forced to turn over profits made from the operation, or risk losing assets of similar value. It is unclear how the courts will uphold the charges against the individuals, especially if they are no longer in the United States.

The 13 Russians used stolen identities from American citizens to promote political activist campaigns that were mostly pro-Trump. Affiliated groups also held rallies in favor of Hillary Clinton. The individuals were never cited for tipping the election in favor of Trump, but were blamed for falsifying documents and foreign meddling in the election.
Count one: Conspiracy to defraud the United States

Mueller said the defendant's goal was to impair, obstruct and defeat the functions of the presidential election by "dishonest means." The targetted actions began in May 2014.

In September 2016, FBI investigators found an email from one of the defendants' Facebook page called Secured Borders that account operators were being criticized for having too low a number of anti-Hillary posts. "It is imperative to intensify criticizing Hillary Clinton" in future posts, according to the indictment.

Two months later, a defendant-run activist group called United Muslims of America sent messages on social media calling for like-minded individuals to boycott the election and not vote for Hillary because of her support of the Iraq War.

Count two: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud

Beginning in 2016 and as late as March 30, 2017, the 13 Russians managed to steal the identities of U.S. citizens and used those IDs to open up bank accounts. The accounts were used to receive and send money for a variety of purposes, including pay for expenses, Facebook ads and to receive money from advertising from merchants and unaffiliated social media sites.

Source: Forbes News