Russian man found guilty of flying without ticket or passport

(CNN) — A Russian man who flew from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Los Angeles International Airport without a ticket, passport or visa has pleaded guilty to illegally entering the plane, officials said Friday.

Sergei Vladimirovich Ochigawa, 46, was convicted by a jury and faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.

The case came to light last November after Ochigawa arrived at LAX on a Scandinavian Airlines flight, according to the attorney’s office.

Ochigawa arrived at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint at LAX and “provided false and misleading information,” including initially telling CBP that he had left his passport on the plane, according to the complaint.

CBP officers could not find Ochigawa’s name on the flight manifest of the Scandinavian Airlines flight or any other incoming international flight, according to the criminal complaint, which says Ochigawa did not have a passport or visa to enter the United States.

Ochigawa – who held Russian and Israeli passports – was arrested on December 5 and pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the prosecutor’s office.

CNN has reached out to Ochigawa’s lawyer for comment.

The man told the FBI he wasn’t sure how he got on the plane

Evidence presented during the three-day jury trial showed that on November 3, 2023, Ochigawa “followed an unsuspecting passenger through a security turnstile at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark to enter one of the airport’s terminals without a boarding pass.” ” reported the US Attorney General’s Office.

The next day, Ochigawa walked through the gate undetected and boarded a Scandinavian Airlines flight to Los Angeles, according to the statement.

Scandinavian Airlines flight crew members said Ochigawa received the most attention “because he was wandering around the plane and changing seats. Additionally, he ordered two meals during each meal service, and at one point attempted to eat cabin crew members’ chocolates,” according to the complaint.

The flight crew did not see Ochigawa’s boarding pass, but remembered him sitting in a seat that was supposed to be empty, according to the complaint. While the flight crew counted people by section to ensure the plane was balanced for takeoff and landing, the numbers were not counted, the complaint said.

When the FBI interviewed him through a Russian-speaking CBP officer on Nov. 5, Ochigawa, who said he had a doctorate in economics and marketing and had worked in Russia as an economist “a long time ago,” said he slept for three days. not For days, he didn’t understand what was happening, wasn’t sure if he had a plane ticket to come to the United States, wasn’t sure how he got on the plane or why he was in Copenhagen, the complaint states. .

Ochigawa, who has been in federal custody since his Nov. 4 arrest at LAX, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 5 in federal court.