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Several Russians accused of promoting Russian interests in US

The seven suspects are suspected of a conspiracy to recruit US citizens "to act as unregistered illegal agents of the Russian government"

WASHINGTON, April 19. /TASS/. The US authorities have accused four US citizens and three Russians of conducting an information campaign to exert influence for the benefit of Moscow, the US Department of Justice has said in a statement.

According to the document, a federal grand jury in Florida "returned a superseding indictment charging four US citizens and three Russian nationals with working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States."

The charges were filed against Russians Alexander Ionov, Aleksey Sukhodolov and Yegor Popov, as well as US citizens Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus Romain.

The seven suspects are suspected of a conspiracy to recruit US citizens "to act as unregistered illegal agents of the Russian government."

They face up to five years in prison if found guilty. Yeshitela, Hess and Nevel were also charged as acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign country, which is punishable with up to ten years behind bars.

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