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The investigation started with a bomb threat to the Interpol Operation and Command Center. That could have been a headline in and of itself. What followed was evidence of alleged bomb threats all over the country and allegations against a man who said he was an agent of the federal government, giving false information in the investigations of his own crimes.In December of 2021 and January of 2022, the Interpol Operation and Command Center got bomb threats from a fake number. The caller had used technology to “spoof” the number so it looked like someone else was calling. The investigation into the bombings fell into the hands of the FBI and the ATF. During their investigations, though, agents from those two agencies began getting phone calls, the voice distorted by the caller, claiming to work for the “intelligence community.” The caller gave information about the supposed threat, information that the agents determined was fake.The investigation determined that all the agents got calls from the same person due to the cadence and language the caller used, according to an affidavit recently unsealed in the courts. Ultimately, the investigation of the fake calls led them to South Lake Tahoe and a man named Anton Andreyevich Iagounov.In October of 2022, agents served a search warrant on Iagounov’s Tahoe home, seizing his cell phone and two computers. The agencies downloaded the contents of the hard drives and the phones and, according to an affidavit by a Reno federal agent, obtained evidence that Iagounov called in the bomb threat to Interpol and impersonated a federal agent.But the evidence didn’t end there. The agents say that Iagounov made bomb threats across the country from 2021 to 2022.On New Year’s Day of 2022, agents say a bomb threat was called into Saddleback Memorial Hospital in Laguna Hills, California. The number was spoofed. That same day, another call went to the office of Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. The caller said someone “plans on blowing up your office with an improvised explosion device.” Again, the number was spoofed and the voice was distorted just like the calls made to Interpol. The affidavit says the cadence, voice, and language are the same as Iagounov’s. The number on the caller ID to Lummis’ office was for Saddleback Memorial Hospital. The number, again, had been spoofed.April 14, 2022: Investigators say the computer’s browsing history has Iagounov looking up the number for the Long Beach Police Dispatch as well as Texas capital building and Texas City Hall. Minutes later, a bomb threat to the city hall of Temple, Texas was called in, and the phone number was from the Long Beach police dispatch. The caller left a voicemail saying “there is a bomb at Temple City Hall that is going to go off one hour from now. Very many people are going to die and we’re going to take the country back.”That same day, using the Long Beach Police phone number, investigators say he called in a threat to the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The next day, a male caller called the Albany Fire Department in Albany, NY, saying there was a “thermal device” in a Walmart in Albany. Minutes later, a call to Torrance, CA, police stated there was a bomb at the Del Amo Fashion Center. That call appeared to come from a Chinese restaurant. A second call to the Torrance Fire Department indicated a similar threat.Minutes later, someone called the offices of Saratoga State Park in Albany, NY, claiming a nuclear device was going to go off in an hour.On April 15, the Boston Fire Department received a bomb threat claiming “a bomb will go off at city hall in exactly one hour. You have been warned.”Iagounov’s computer, according to the investigators, had a screenshot of an article about the bomb threat in Boston that evacuated its city hall. It was the anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing.April 16: The Harry Reid International Airport Dispatch in Las Vegas got a call claiming “a thermonuclear explosive device is set to go off at your airport precisely an hour from now.” The number said it was from Congressman Eugene Wu.Six days later, Carson City Sheriff’s deputies pulled over Iagounov for driving with an obstructed license plate. The deputies noticed that he had red and blue police lights inside the vehicle. They also found a counterfeit FBI badge. He was arrested, and during an interview with deputies claimed he worked for various federal agencies. He claimed to have trained with or even contracted with FEMA, Homeland Security, the US Marshals, and even the Department of Justice. He said he couldn’t tell agents where he got the FBI badge. He would later say he was in a training exercise and that they weren’t cleared to know about it.Court documents go on to say that Iagounov would harass the Sheriff of the City of Carson City, Nevada. He sent FOIA requests to the FBI pretending to be Sheriff Ken Furlong. He allegedly faxed several law enforcement agencies in Nevada claiming the sheriff had died.In July, according to the affidavit filed in Sacramento Federal Court, Iagounov would pose as an agent of the NASA Inspector General’s office. He allegedly filed an affidavit for a search warrant and sent it to the U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, DC. The Capitol Police received the warrant “ostensibly authorizing the search for and seizure of a computer and “access control logs” located at the Pentagon. The document purported to have been filed with the federal district court, assigned a magistrate case number, and been designated “SEALED.” The warrant purported to look for Top Secret/Sensitive information and data related to network logistics.NASA confirmed it had never sent the warrant.On July 11, Iagounov again pretended, allegedly, to be an agent with the OIG by sending an affidavit to the U.S. Federal Court for the Central District of California. It was seeking the same top-secret information.On July 18, another false affidavit, this time to the bankruptcy court in Georgia, nearly identical to the previous two.Finally, on July 24, 2022, he allegedly faxed the federal court in the Northern District of Florida saying that the OIG had sent a fax for a search warrant and that “an “exigent circumstance” required a judge’s signature and asked that the Court contact the sender for confirmation.” Once again, NASA said they never sent the fax.Investigators said in the court records that they had found information showing that the email addresses, phone numbers, and internet searches point to Iagounov as having made the threats and impersonated the OIG agents in question. They also found drafts of other affidavits and faxes meant for federal courts all over the country. As of right now, he faces four counts of impersonating an officer of the United States. He could face up to three years in prison.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. —
The investigation started with a bomb threat to the Interpol Operation and Command Center. That could have been a headline in and of itself. What followed was evidence of alleged bomb threats all over the country and allegations against a man who said he was an agent of the federal government, giving false information in the investigations of his own crimes.
In December of 2021 and January of 2022, the Interpol Operation and Command Center got bomb threats from a fake number. The caller had used technology to “spoof” the number so it looked like someone else was calling. The investigation into the bombings fell into the hands of the FBI and the ATF. During their investigations, though, agents from those two agencies began getting phone calls, the voice distorted by the caller, claiming to work for the “intelligence community.” The caller gave information about the supposed threat, information that the agents determined was fake.
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The investigation determined that all the agents got calls from the same person due to the cadence and language the caller used, according to an affidavit recently unsealed in the courts. Ultimately, the investigation of the fake calls led them to South Lake Tahoe and a man named Anton Andreyevich Iagounov.
In October of 2022, agents served a search warrant on Iagounov’s Tahoe home, seizing his cell phone and two computers. The agencies downloaded the contents of the hard drives and the phones and, according to an affidavit by a Reno federal agent, obtained evidence that Iagounov called in the bomb threat to Interpol and impersonated a federal agent.
But the evidence didn’t end there. The agents say that Iagounov made bomb threats across the country from 2021 to 2022.
On New Year’s Day of 2022, agents say a bomb threat was called into Saddleback Memorial Hospital in Laguna Hills, California. The number was spoofed. That same day, another call went to the office of Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
The caller said someone “plans on blowing up your office with an improvised explosion device.”
Again, the number was spoofed and the voice was distorted just like the calls made to Interpol. The affidavit says the cadence, voice, and language are the same as Iagounov’s. The number on the caller ID to Lummis’ office was for Saddleback Memorial Hospital. The number, again, had been spoofed.
April 14, 2022: Investigators say the computer’s browsing history has Iagounov looking up the number for the Long Beach Police Dispatch as well as Texas capital building and Texas City Hall. Minutes later, a bomb threat to the city hall of Temple, Texas was called in, and the phone number was from the Long Beach police dispatch. The caller left a voicemail saying “there is a bomb at Temple City Hall that is going to go off one hour from now. Very many people are going to die and we’re going to take the country back.”
That same day, using the Long Beach Police phone number, investigators say he called in a threat to the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The next day, a male caller called the Albany Fire Department in Albany, NY, saying there was a “thermal device” in a Walmart in Albany. Minutes later, a call to Torrance, CA, police stated there was a bomb at the Del Amo Fashion Center. That call appeared to come from a Chinese restaurant. A second call to the Torrance Fire Department indicated a similar threat.
Minutes later, someone called the offices of Saratoga State Park in Albany, NY, claiming a nuclear device was going to go off in an hour.
On April 15, the Boston Fire Department received a bomb threat claiming “a bomb will go off at city hall in exactly one hour. You have been warned.”
Iagounov’s computer, according to the investigators, had a screenshot of an article about the bomb threat in Boston that evacuated its city hall. It was the anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
April 16: The Harry Reid International Airport Dispatch in Las Vegas got a call claiming “a thermonuclear explosive device is set to go off at your airport precisely an hour from now.” The number said it was from Congressman Eugene Wu.
Six days later, Carson City Sheriff’s deputies pulled over Iagounov for driving with an obstructed license plate. The deputies noticed that he had red and blue police lights inside the vehicle. They also found a counterfeit FBI badge.
He was arrested, and during an interview with deputies claimed he worked for various federal agencies. He claimed to have trained with or even contracted with FEMA, Homeland Security, the US Marshals, and even the Department of Justice. He said he couldn’t tell agents where he got the FBI badge. He would later say he was in a training exercise and that they weren’t cleared to know about it.
Court documents go on to say that Iagounov would harass the Sheriff of the City of Carson City, Nevada. He sent FOIA requests to the FBI pretending to be Sheriff Ken Furlong. He allegedly faxed several law enforcement agencies in Nevada claiming the sheriff had died.
In July, according to the affidavit filed in Sacramento Federal Court, Iagounov would pose as an agent of the NASA Inspector General’s office. He allegedly filed an affidavit for a search warrant and sent it to the U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, DC. The Capitol Police received the warrant “ostensibly authorizing the search for and seizure of a computer and “access control logs” located at the Pentagon.
The document purported to have been filed with the federal district court, assigned a magistrate case number, and been designated “SEALED.” The warrant purported to look for Top Secret/Sensitive information and data related to network logistics.
NASA confirmed it had never sent the warrant.
On July 11, Iagounov again pretended, allegedly, to be an agent with the OIG by sending an affidavit to the U.S. Federal Court for the Central District of California. It was seeking the same top-secret information.
On July 18, another false affidavit, this time to the bankruptcy court in Georgia, nearly identical to the previous two.
Finally, on July 24, 2022, he allegedly faxed the federal court in the Northern District of Florida saying that the OIG had sent a fax for a search warrant and that “an “exigent circumstance” required a judge’s signature and asked that the Court contact the sender for confirmation.”
Once again, NASA said they never sent the fax.
Investigators said in the court records that they had found information showing that the email addresses, phone numbers, and internet searches point to Iagounov as having made the threats and impersonated the OIG agents in question. They also found drafts of other affidavits and faxes meant for federal courts all over the country.
As of right now, he faces four counts of impersonating an officer of the United States. He could face up to three years in prison.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
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