Russian immigrant sentenced to six years for fake voter registrations and fraud scheme

Dmitry Shushlebin, a Russian citizen who arrived in the United States in 2013, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber to six years in federal prison for orchestrating an elaborate fraud operation. The scheme involved submitting 132 fraudulent voter-registration applications in Pinellas County, creating two sham companies—British Educational Center and Amaro Dental—and using fabricated identities to secure loans, credit-card terminals and other financial benefits.

Federal agents recovered about $477,000, most of which was transferred to bank accounts in Russia and never retrieved. Shushlebin’s associate, Sanjar Jamilov, admitted to the conspiracy and will be deported, while Shushlebin is expected to be removed after serving his sentence. The fraud was detected when the elections office noticed identical mailing envelopes and missing personal details on the applications, prompting a U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigation.