A chauffeur couple are accused of stealing millions of dollars from their employer, Oregon-based publisher Win McCormack. Sergey Lebedenko and his wife, Galina Lebedenko, made up to $34 million in unauthorized charges to McCormack’s credit card, including the money for several houses and a jet, according to a federal prosecutor. Maxine Bernstein wrote about the fraud for The Oregonian and joins us to talk about the case.
This transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.
Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. “Extraordinary,” “unprecedented,” “colossal,” “eye watering” - those are some of the words that a federal prosecutor used to describe an alleged theft, the largest against a single person in the history of Oregon’s federal court system. Prosecutors say that Sergey and Galina Lebedenko stole $34 million from the Oregon-based publisher Win McCormack over the last eight years. According to court documents, the couple used that money to buy fancy houses, a jet, and more. They were arrested last week. Maxine Bernstein covers courts, crime, and law enforcement for The Oregonian. She joins us now to talk about this case. Welcome back.
Maxine Bernstein: Thanks, Dave.
Miller: Who is Win McCormack?
Bernstein: Win McCormack is a wealthy Oregon-based publisher and a major donor to Democratic candidates and causes. He is publisher of The New Republic and owner of Oregon’s Tin House Book Publishing Company. He’s written books, he wrote “The Rajneesh Chronicles” in 1987. And he came to Oregon, actually attended University of Oregon to obtain a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and now lives in Portland.
Miller: What about the Lebedenkos, a husband-and-wife couple, Sergey and Galina?
Bernstein: So Sergey and Galina both came to the United States from Ukraine in about 1995, their lawyers said, and became U.S. citizens in 2001. They have two daughters. Galina’s parents joined them in Oregon and live here. They started a limousine and town car service called Astra and started offering rides to Win McCormack back in 2006, 2007.
Miller: When do prosecutors allege that the serious embezzlement began?
Bernstein: So court papers and the prosecutors allege that the Ukrainian couple began charging, to Mr. McCormack’s American Express card, inflated, unauthorized charges for the daily limo service from 2016 through to 2023.
Miller: So the basic mechanism for stealing $34 million is through a credit card?
Bernstein: Yes. They allegedly made direct charges to Mr. McCormack’s American Express card in particular, and sometimes made multiple charges on days that Mr. McCormack wasn’t even in Portland, or they weren’t even providing any limo service for him. He often spent time in New York as well and there were charges to his credit card for their limo service when he wasn’t even present in Portland.
Miller: How much money did they charge in any given month according to court documents?
Bernstein: The documents allege that, for example, in April of 2022, they charged a total of $602,490, through 225 distinct charges in that single month allegedly. And, for example in one year alone, 2019, the couple was accused of stealing up to $9 million from Mr. McCormack.
Miller: Can you give a sense for what the affidavit says Lebedenko bought with this money?
Bernstein: Sure. They allegedly spent it on lavish vacation homes. A $2.3 million home in Sunriver, a $2 million home in Bermuda Dunes, California, other homes for their two adult daughters, and a $1.5 million private mid-sized executive jet called the Cessna Citation Three.
Miller: You also write that there are allegations that the Lebedenkos bought a house for their pastor. Were you able to learn anything about that?
Bernstein: Correct. The prosecutor, Ryan Bounds, said in court that they’re accusing the couple of buying a $1.1 million home for their pastor. And the Lebedenko lawyers said they were very active and involved in their local Slavic church.
Miller: What else have the Lebedenkos or their lawyers said in response to these allegations?
Bernstein: When the couple was first in court last week, their initial federal public defender, Mark Ahlemeyer, argued that the couple had built a thriving business since coming to the U.S. And the prosecutor countered that it was just a mirage, that they appear to have only one customer, who was Win McCormack. A lot of the arguments in court last week were about whether they should be detained pending trial, kept in custody, or released. The couple’s lawyers argued that the two are naturalized citizens, that they both agreed to surrender their U.S. passports, and they said that they haven’t been back to Ukraine since the early 2000′s.
Miller: It’s striking that a person could allegedly have $34 million taken from them over the course of a relatively small number of years and not even realize it. What did McCormack say about the case in an email to you?
Bernstein: He said in his statement that he was deeply saddened by the situation, particularly because he had a long and trusting relationship and friendship with the couple. He described the allegations as a personal violation and extreme breach of trust. He described this as a significant problem in our community. He said, quote, “It’s too common that elderly individuals are victimized often by people they know and trust.” But on a personal level, he said he recognized how lucky he is in life, and that he has the means to recover and move forward, and that he’s cooperating with the investigation.
Miller: Did the court documents give any sense for how the alleged embezzlement was eventually discovered?
Bernstein: The court documents suggest that American Express alerted Mr. McCormack about some unusual charges. And the court documents also suggest that McCormack questioned the couple, on more than one occasion, about the charges.
Miller: You had some screenshots that were provided by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of those court documents that are really striking. They basically are pictures of text message threads between Win McCormack and Sergey Lebedenko. One of them says, “I warned you about this and you and Galina didn’t pay attention.” It says “We’ve talked about this. Did you charge $300,000? You have to stop this.” I’m paraphrasing but only barely. I’m just curious, what stands out to you in these texts?
Bernstein: What stands out is once McCormack questions them about it, Sergey, according to the texts that are in the court record, immediately says, “absolutely not.” He wasn’t participating in any fraud. And he also described his wife as “the boss” [and] “you’ll have to talk to her.”
Ultimately, in November of last year, Mr. McCormack again texts Sergey and he says, “American Express has told me you charged about $300,000 over the course of two months - October and November.” He says he warned him about this and if that kept coming up, they’ll be fired. And Sergey, apparently according to the records that were shared in the court record, responds that “Hey, if you wanna fire me, I’ll work for you for free. You’re like a father figure to me.” He signs off, “I love you, boss.” And at that point, that month I understand is when Mr. McCormack or his representatives alerted the FBI.
Miller: You noted earlier that in court last week, federal prosecutors talked about their fears that the Lebedenkos would be a flight risk, that they should be detained. What did the judge decide?
Bernstein: So, initially, the Lebedenkos appeared before a Magistrate Judge Stacy Beckerman and she granted their release, but ordered that they not get on any plane, that they surrender their U.S. passport and not leave the State of Oregon. After that decision, the prosecutor, Ryan Bounds, challenged her ruling to District Judge Marco Hernandez. And in that hearing, he argued that their access to their private jet would provide an obvious means of escape, that about $20 million that was allegedly stolen from Mr. McCormack had not been recovered and they don’t know where it is. And he feared that they would return to the Ukraine where they couldn’t be extradited and face the charges.
But the judge ruled after he listened to their lawyers who said they have strong roots in the community here, that their grandparents, their daughters are here, a grandchild is here and that they haven’t been to Ukraine in decades. And so the judge supported Magistrate Judge Beckerman’s decisions, but just added that the two would have to wear GPS location monitoring. And he also barred them from going anywhere near the PDX Airport or the Aurora Airport, where this private jet is.
Miller: Maxine, thanks very much.
Bernstein: Thanks.
Miller: Maxine Bernstein covers courts, crime and law enforcement for The Oregonian.
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