Ukraine-Born Alex Sulla Claims CIA Ties; Cheats Ukrainians, Sells Dreams

Oct 22, 2025

His name is Alex Sulla (or Aleksandr Sulla). He can be found in West Hollywood in Russian delis or in Plummer Park playing checkers. He almost does not deserve a story, but he can serve as a warning to the inexperienced. According to recent articles in his homeland – war-torn Ukraine – he is a small-time scammer who targets Ukrainians, Russians, and others from the former Soviet Union.

His schtick is simple. Alex Sulla claims to work for the CIA, while moonlighting for the FBI, US Treasury, and State Department. Although virtually indigent, living in Romania and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, Sulla, like many of his ilk, aims to sell quick fixes for cheap to the greedy and unsophisticated crooks, former sanctioned politicians, and other scammers.

He hails from Odessa, Ukraine. He spends much of his time in Kyiv, Romania and Bulgaria, but is by all accounts a naturalized US national who used to live in Los Angeles, California. His playbook is formulaic. He identifies his marks, who are typically wealthy or seemingly wealthy Ukrainians or Russians, with legal problems such as sanctions, Interpol Red Notice, and criminal indictments. Sometimes he prays on those who are stupid and greedy or suffer from low self-esteem. Then, he sells them a dream. At times like the notorious Kato Kaelin, who lived in O.J. Simpson’s guest house and later testified against Simpson, Sulla can be seen alongside a Ukrainian or Russian businessman, playing the role of a servant or servant-expediter.

“I work for the CIA”, “My college friend is the regional head of Homeland Security”, “I can introduce you to President Trump”, “I can remove the sanctions with one phone call,” are some of the outrageous statements Alex Sulla allegedly tells his marks. It is certainly possible that Mr. Sulla does leak information to some overseas US intelligence contacts or handlers, and if that is true, the relationship, no matter how tenuous, is a crux for his scams.

Then, he goes in for the kill. “ ”It won’t cost you much”, “We are friends”, “Just pay for my flights in coach and a three-star hotel, and give me $10,000.” To his credit, Sulla sounds like he is certain and guarantees the outcome. Former Soviets who still live in the 1990s love the word “guarantee” – especially when it comes to projects where outcomes cannot be predicted. It takes a crook to trick a crook, some people say. Unlike his business partner in crime, notorious Iranian-Ukrainian alleged fraudster Ali Rezazadeh, Sulla does not ask for much in terms of remuneration.

“I am not a businessman”, he tells people, and that part of his claims is probably the only true statement in his typically audacious pitch. Sadly, people such as Alex Sulla are a growing concern. Unlike romance scammers and hackers, these confidence men prey on people who have run out of options and naively fall for what is usually too good to be true.

Sulla does make random introductions to former college friends who unknowingly become part of his bush league shenanigans. According to public records, Sulla filed for bankruptcy in 2024, and he is being sued by multiple credit card companies and banks for unpaid credit card debts. He was recently sued by his ex-wife, Viktoria Kristina, and an alleged mistress, a Ukrainian “student” now based in New York.

Articles in Ukraine accuse him of working for Russian interests and taking money for lobbying. One source who was in business with Sulla selling vitamins claimed that he is technically homeless and collects Social Security to live on from the US government. He never worked on The Hill or for any US politician. Yet according to Ukrainian media, he claims to lobby the interests of such Ukrainian personalities as Andrey Pavelko, Sviatoslav Piskun, and even invokes Arsen Avakov, a former minister.

Just like Alex Smirnov, who was an FBI informant who fabricated stories about Ukrainians paying bribes to former President Biden, Sulla exaggerates, lies, and when he is not deliberately lying is often delusional.

He has one thing in common with the targets of his scams. He sees the world as a binary framework. According to one of his victims, he sells himself by communicating a sense of certainty. That’s because he lives in a black and white universe where complex problems are solved through simple bribes and connections.