Scientists face 20 years in prison

TAMPA — Two local scientists each face up to 20 years in federal prison after a jury convicted both of wire fraud, identity theft, and falsifying records involving a federal investigation.

Mahmoud Aldissi and Anastassia Bogomolova — also known as Matt Aldissi and Anastasia Bogomolova — will learn their fates during a sentencing hearing May 28. The hearing follows a month-long trial that involved their two Belleair Beach-based companies, Fractal Systems Inc. and Smart Polymers Research Corp.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office say the pair fraudulently obtained $10.5 million worth of small business research awards from the federal government, submitting proposals using the stolen identities of real people in order to create false endorsements of and for their proposed contracts.

In those same proposals, prosecutors say Aldissi and Bogomolova lied about their facilities, costs, the principal investigator on some of the contracts awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and certifications in the proposals.

“The Small Business Innovation Research program is a vital link in stimulating innovative technologies,” says Allison Lerner, inspector general at the National Science Foundation, in a release. “The conviction of these individuals on all charges, including identity theft and falsification of records, sends a clear message that fraud in this program will not be tolerated.”

A website for Fractal Systems says the company was founded in 1997 to conduct “cutting edge research and development on conductive polymers, nano-materials and nano-composites for electronic and electrochemical applications.” It spun off Smart Polymers Research in 2004 to help focus on biosensor development.

Fractal Systems downsized to two employees in 2007, according to the website; Aldissi as president and senior scientist, and Bogomolova as senior scientist.

Smart Polymers lists only Bogomolova as the company's president, but that company's website says the team did include up to three part-time scientists.

An address for Smart Polymers points to a single-family home on Fourth Street in Belleair Beach the couple bought for $196,000 in 1998, according to Pinellas County property records. The deed listed the couple as husband and wife. The federal government started foreclosure proceedings on the property last June, according to property records.