A Russian couple at the center of a murder-for-hire and money-laundering scheme in Wake County pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges in the case.
Leonid Teyf pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official, visa fraud and making false statements on his tax returns, all felonies. His wife, Tatiana Teyf, pleaded guilty to making false statements in her naturalization process, also a felony.
Other WRAL Top Stories
The couple is tied to various multimillion-dollar businesses and are accused of money laundering and a $150 million kickback scheme with the Russian military.
The case grabbed headlines in 2018 when FBI agents raided the Teyfs' north Raleigh mansion. Authorities also found guns and cash at a condo Leonid Teyf bought on Glenwood Avenue.
Agents said Leonid Teyf told an FBI informant that he wanted the son of his housekeeper killed because he thought the man was having an affair with his wife. He told the informant that he wanted the son "kidnapped, taken into the woods, forced to admit to having sex with Tatiana Teyf on video then to be killed," according to a court document.
Leonid Teyf then decided he wanted the son deported because, if he was back in Russia, “he would be buried already," a court document states.
He and a friend, John Cotter, then tried to bribe a Department of Homeland Security agent to investigate and deport the son. According to documents in the case, the men offered the DHS agent a boat, vehicle or cash as an incentive to investigate. They also agreed to pay the agent $25,000 for an "investigation that would result in the arrest and deportation" of the son.
Cotter then helped Leonid Teyf provide a $10,000 down payment, promising that, once the son was deported, the agent would get an additional $15,000.
When the deportation plan was taking longer than he expected, Leonid Teyf returned to the murder-for-hire plan and paid the informant $25,000 to kill the son, even providing him with a gun where the serial number had been removed, authorities said.
As part of his plea agreement, Leonid Teyf agreed to a five-year prison sentence, after which he will be deported. He's already served 27 months in prison.
He also agreed to forfeit $5.9 million he had in banks, as well as various amounts of seized cash, and pay a $99,000 penalty for the tax violation.
Tatiana Teyf won't serve any time in prison, but she also agreed to forfeit the money in the joint bank accounts. There was no deportation agreement, but she likely won't remain in the U.S. after her husband is deported.
A sentencing hearing will be held in about three months.