A former police officer and minor league baseball player, Lee Reiber, has been arrested on charges of concealing the Russian ownership of a tech company that secured over $2 million in U.S. federal contracts, including from the Secret Service. Federal prosecutors accuse Reiber, 55, of acting as the American frontman for Oxygen Forensics, a company that sold digital forensics software to U.S. agencies.
The U.S. Secret Service confirmed that it previously used Oxygen Forensics software but immediately discontinued its use in February after identifying security risks. The agency stated there is no evidence that sensitive information was compromised, as the software was used exclusively in air-gapped environments.
Reiber was arrested in Idaho on Sunday, facing accusations that he lied to government agencies about Oxygen Forensics having no foreign ownership or control and that its software was developed in the U.S. In reality, the Justice Department alleges that five Russian nationals owned and controlled Oxygen through a Cyprus-based holding company, with the software developed by a team in Russia. One of the alleged owners, Russian national Oleg Sergeyevich Davydov, 52, was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport and is awaiting extradition.
Prosecutors claim Reiber became the public face of Oxygen in March 2022, weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of expanded U.S. sanctions. However, the Russian owners allegedly maintained control behind the scenes, influencing key decisions, setting Reiber's compensation, and holding signatory authority over company bank accounts. Reiber allegedly earned $250,000 for his role as CEO.
Max Weissberg, a former Oxygen employee and whistleblower, told The Post that the company's Russian owners were referred to internally as "Europeans" to conceal their nationality. Weissberg provided testimony and evidence, including a photograph of Reiber with Russian nationals Oleg Fedorov and Galina Rabotenko at a bowling alley.
Reiber, a former LAPD officer, had previously been profiled by The New York Times in 2006 for his work using cellphone data in criminal investigations. His baseball career included being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1989 and playing in rookie league and Frontier League games.
According to the criminal complaint, Reiber emailed Davydov and two other Russian owners stating that public reporting on the company's connection to Russia "could destroy this entire opportunity," referring to a pending contract with the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute. The institute awarded Oxygen a five-year contract in September 2024.
Weissberg decided to become a whistleblower after allegedly overhearing an employee brag about convincing Chevron to lower its security features before installing Oxygen's software, which was followed by a fire at a Chevron refinery. The Justice Department has stated that the criminal complaint does not allege that Oxygen's software contained malicious code or was used for unauthorized access.
Reiber reportedly told undercover agents posing as Department of Homeland Security personnel in March that no Russian had control or interest in the company and no Russians were involved in its software development. He subsequently posted a similar statement on the Oxygen website. Federal investigators maintain that the software was written and managed by a team in Russia under Davydov's direction.
The company's website has since been seized. Reiber also filed a defamation lawsuit against Weissberg, denying any Russian employees, contractors, or suppliers and asserting that Oxygen does not sell its products in Russia or operate under Russian government control.
Federal agencies identified in the complaint include the Department of War, Homeland Security Investigations, the DHS Office of Inspector General, and the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute.
If convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Reiber faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles federal court. U.S. authorities are seeking Davydov's extradition from Britain.