Justice Dept. Accuses Russians of Interfering in Midterm Elections

Russians working for a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin engaged in an elaborate campaign of “information warfare” to interfere with the midterm elections, federal prosecutors said on Friday in unsealing a criminal complaint against one of them.

The woman, Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, of St. Petersburg, was involved in an effort “to spread distrust toward candidates for U.S. political office and the U.S. political system,” prosecutors said.

Court documents provided a detailed look into Russian efforts to “sow division and discord” in the American political system, thanks in part to Ms. Khusyaynova, a fastidious manager and bookkeeper.

Ms. Khusyaynova managed millions of dollars for a company owned by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch sometimes called “Putin’s chef.” He was indicted in February on charges of interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Some of the money Ms. Khusyaynova managed was spent on advertising on social media in the United States, buying internet domain names and “promoting news postings on social networks.”

An image provided by the Justice Department shows a social media post used in the influence campaign.

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