Blaine Man Pleads Guilty In FBI White Powder Hoax Case

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Blaine man has pleaded guilty to two counts of False Information and Hoax, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

According to court documents, on June 30, 2020, Oleg Petrashov, 45, mailed a manila envelope containing a brown and tan powder to the FBI Field Office in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. On November 4, 2022, Petrashov mailed a second envelope containing a white powder to the same FBI Field Office. Both mailings were examined for explosive and biological agents resulting in significant disruptions at the FBI Field Office, requiring the temporary relocation of employees, implementation of decontamination protocols, and deployment of special agent bomb technicians.

Petrashov admitted to FBI agents in April 2023 that he sent the letters and that he made them appear to be from a family member with whom he had a personal dispute, intending to trigger an investigation of that individual.

Petrashov pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Judge Laura M. Provinzino to intentionally conveying false or misleading information that could reasonably be perceived as a biological agent or explosive.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott for the District of Minnesota and Patrick Cashman of the National Security Division are prosecuting the case.