IL Woman Sentenced To Federal Prison For Exporting Riflescopes To Russia

MUNDELEIN, IL — A 62-year-old Mundelein woman has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for conspiring to ship to Russia thermal-imaging riflescopes and night-vision goggles without first obtaining the required license.

Elena Shifrin was sentenced this past week by U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr., according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California. Shifrin pleaded guilty in February 2022 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act.

According to court documents, from 2017 to 2020, Shifrin participated in the export of more than 60 defense articles from the United States to Russia without obtaining from the State Department a valid license or other approval for the exports.

Shifrin’s co-conspirators purchased the defense articles, including thermal riflescopes, weapons sights, monoculars and night-vision googles, from online sellers in the United States and directed the sellers to mail those items to Shifrin or other co-conspirators in Illinois and California.

After receiving the items, Shifrin mailed them to co-conspirators in Russia without obtaining the required licenses, according to the news release.

Shifrin used made-up names and addresses on the packages when exporting the items to Russia, according to prosecutors. She also falsely identified the items in the packages as non-export-controlled items such as clothing, and concealed the defense articles in other items such as toolkits and kitchen appliances.

One of Shifrin’s co-conspirators, Igor Panchernikov, 43, a former California resident who once served in the United States Air Force Reserves, pleaded guilty in March 2023 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and was sentenced in June 2023 to 27 months in federal prison.

Two other defendants charged in this case – Boris Polosin, of Russia, and Vladimir Gohman, of Israel – are fugitives. Charges against another defendant – Vladimir Pridacha, 59, of Volo, Illinois, were dismissed on January 19 at the request of prosecutors.