A former regional manager for a U.S. freight forwarding company was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, also known as Natasha Mazulina, was also ordered to forfeit $77,000 in criminal proceeds. Mazulina, 43, of Federal Way, Washington, served as the western regional manager of Delex Air Cargo LLC, a freight forwarding company based in Jamaica, New York. The company operated out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington.

Mazulina was arrested in December 2024 after a federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she pleaded guilty in October 2025 to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act before being sentenced on Wednesday.

Prosecutors said shipments were routed through intermediary countries

According to court filings, Mazulina conspired with Russian freight forwarding companies and others from at least December 2022 through December 2024 to unlawfully ship controlled items from the United States to Russia through intermediary countries. Prosecutors said the shipments included industrial oil and gas equipment subject to U.S. export controls.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Mazulina attempted to conceal the scheme by submitting, and causing the submission of, false export documents to the U.S. government. According to prosecutors, the documents omitted that the goods were ultimately destined for Russia.

Court filings also referenced a June 2023 communication in which Mazulina allegedly told colleagues that her clients were paying through bank accounts in third-party countries because “Most of [her] clients [were] currently sanctioned with USA.”

U.S. attorney says office will continue pursuing export control violations

“The Russian oil and gas industry is the lifeblood that fuels the Russian war machine,” United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. “This defendant put her own profits above the national security of the United States by conspiring to illegally export industrial oil and gas equipment to Russia. Our Office will continue to use all our law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute those who evade export control laws.”

“Natalya Mazulina bolstered Russia’s military capabilities and jeopardized our country’s security by violating U.S. export regulations,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said. “The FBI maintains its unwavering commitment to quash threat actors who exploit American companies to support adversarial agendas of hostile nations.”

Case began with a 12-count indictment

According to the December 2024 indictment, Mazulina was charged with conspiracy to export controlled goods to Russia without a license, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, exporting controlled goods to Russia without a license, filing false export documents with the U.S. government and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law.

The case concluded with Mazulina’s guilty plea to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. According to the 2024 indictment, the investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force established to enforce sanctions, export controls and other economic countermeasures imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Skurnik prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s New York Field Office and the Office of Export Enforcement’s Boston Field Office, with assistance from other federal agencies and U.S. Attorney’s Offices, according to the Justice Department.

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phillip Brink.

$500K bourbon shipment stolen in alleged carrier impersonation scheme – FreightWaves

Transfix integrates Highway carrier vetting into TMS – FreightWaves

Trucker Path integrates Verisk CargoNet theft intelligence into navigation platform – FreightWaves

The post Freight forwarding manager sentenced for violating U.S. export controls appeared first on FreightWaves.