Estonian national sentenced in Russian-based fraud scheme worth $10 billion

An Estonian national was sentenced for participating in a $10 billion international money laundering scheme in Lexington with ties to Russia .

Aleksandr Lis, 26, was sentenced to just over two years for his involvement in an international health care fraud and money laundering scheme.

Lis pleaded guilty on Jan. 15 to conspiracy to commit money laundering after serving as a nominee owner of two fraudulent medical equipment companies — one of which was in Northern Kentucky — that he used to submitted to Medicare and insurers.

Lis was recruited to operate the two fronts that were actually controlled by a criminal organization operating primarily in Russia. Attorneys for Lis described the locations as “vehicles for a massive fraud.”

In total, he received $6 million in financial transactions to conceal unlawful proceeds between July 2023 to February 2024.

The fraudulent activity was part of a larger international network that earned $10 billion in false claims and billed for glucose monitors, catheters and other medical equipment.

Lis’s attorneys requested that he receive a sentence of time served because he had never been convicted of any crime before.

Taylor Six

Lexington Herald-Leader

Taylor Six is the criminal justice reporter at the Herald-Leader. She was born and raised in Lexington attending Lafayette High School. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2018 with a degree in journalism. She previously worked as the government reporter for the Richmond Register.