A Russian citizen living in Miami Beach has been sentenced to six years in prison and three years of supervised release for organizing an identity theft fraud scheme that included efforts by conspirators to submit fraudulent voter registrations, federal authorities announced.

Dmitry Shushlebin, 45, was also ordered to pay $458,839.69 in restitution, according to the Justice Department.

Shushlebin pleaded guilty on July 25, 2025, to a four-count superseding information filed a day earlier charging him with conspiracy to give false information in registering to vote and submit fraudulent voter registrations, wire fraud, making false statements, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Shushlebin hired Sanjar Jamilov, an Uzbekistani national, and others to submit more than 100 fraudulent voter registration applications to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections in February and March 2023. One purpose of registering these fake voters was to create synthetic or fake identities that Shushlebin could use to commit financial fraud.

Shushlebin used the fake identities to obtain fraudulent credit cards and loans, perpetrating the scheme against victim financial institutions hundreds of times using hundreds of different synthetic identities, authorities said.

“Those who engage in fraud and deception in our election processes will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “After arriving in the United States, Dmitry Shushlebin created sham companies to facilitate a multi-year financial fraud scheme. He used these companies to commit identity theft, which allowed him to create synthetic or fake identities that appeared real after they were used to submit over 100 false voter registrations.”

U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida said voting is one of the most significant rights and responsibilities Americans have.

“We will continue to investigate threats to the integrity of our electoral process and prosecute those who engage in fraud or other means to violate our nation’s voting laws,” Kehoe said.

FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge Rodney Crawford said the bureau is committed to supporting election security partners to ensure fraudulent schemes like Shushlebin’s “never have a chance to succeed.”

“We have the investigative tools and the strong partnerships to detect and disrupt these crimes,” Crawford said.

Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division said combating fraud and identity theft are critical missions of the agency.

“We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to investigate those individuals who use the mail to enrich themselves at the expense of others,” Rojo said.