According to the BBC, a Russian man who entered the country without a ticket, passport, or visa was found guilty in a federal court of being a stowaway on a plane. A jury found 46-year-old Sergey Ochigava guilty in a California court on Friday.
Court filings state that on November 4, 2023, Mr. Ochigava, a dual national of Russian and Israeli descent, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport after departing Copenhagen on a Scandinavian Airlines flight.
In addition to not having a passport or visa, authorities were unable to locate him on any flight’s passenger list. After that, he was taken into custody and has been there since November.
His sentencing is scheduled for February, and he could receive a maximum term of five years in federal prison.
He allegedly provided false and misleading information to investigators regarding his method of entry into the US, including the claim that he had casually left his passport on the aircraft.
The majority of the flight crew claimed to have seen Mr. Ochigava during the trip, claiming that he kept switching seats and wandering the aircraft. At one point, he allegedly tried to consume the cabin crew members’ chocolate and asked for two meals during each meal service.
Upon searching his backpack, authorities discovered what seemed to be Israeli and Russian identity cards but no passport.
Ochigava held a Ph. D. in marketing and economics. His last employment was in Russia many years ago as an economist. He stated he had not slept for three days and was unable to comprehend the situation. Ochigava said he wasn’t sure if he had a plane ticket to come to the US, according to FBI Agent Caroline Walling.
