US authorities have arrested 10 people on charges of spying on behalf of Russia over the course of 20 years, the US Justice Department announced Monday, dpa reported.
Authorities were seeking an 11th suspect who remained at large, the Justice Department said. Nine of the defendants face charges of conspiring to commit money laundering, the department said.
The arrests of the individuals, including four couples, were carried out over the weekend in Montclair, New Jersey, Yonkers, New York, Alexandria, Virginia, Boston and New York.
Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for acting illegally as an agent of a foreign government, plus an additional 20 years on the money laundering charges.