Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, 38, was among eight people arrested in the past two weeks and charged with a felony for allegedly “luring a childe with computer for sex act,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated on Friday.
Alexandrovich was booked at the Henderson Detention Center in Henderson, Nev., according to the department. “We would like to remind parents to discuss with their children the dangers of engaging with strangers online,” the department stated.
U.S. and Israeli media reported that Alexandrovich was a top cybersecurity official for the Israeli government at the time. A LinkedIn page that a Tom Alexandrovich has since deleted identified the person as “executive director of the Israel Cyber Directorate,” an Israeli government entity, Mediaite reported. (JNS sought comment from the Las Vegas police.)
The publication added that Alexandrovich was in Las Vegas recently to attend the Black Hat Briefings, an “annual gathering of cybersecurity professionals” and posted a since-deleted photo of himself at the event in the Las Vegas area.
Israeli media reported that an official of the Israel National Cyber Directorate had been questioned by police and returned to Israel two days later.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told Israeli media that “a state employee who traveled to the U.S. for professional matters was questioned by American authorities during his stay,” and that the staffer, “who does not hold a diplomatic visa, was not arrested and returned to Israel as scheduled.”
A Nov. 24, 2024, item on the Israel National Cyber Directorate website refers to a Tom Alexandrovich, who is identified as “head of the technological defense division” at the directorate.
The website of Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas, lists a Tom Alexandrovich with a date of offense of Aug. 6 and who is due in court next on Aug. 27. That person posted $10,000 bond (and a $50 filing fee) at Henderson Detention Center on Aug. 7, per the county records.
Israeli media reported that the Israel National Cyber Directorate said on Saturday that the employee who was detained abroad is now on leave “by mutual decision.”
