On Christmas day, the New York Post ran a story about two individuals alleged to have committed at least eight brutal robberies. According to the original article (Posted to nypost.com at 6:14 PM (EST) on December 25), the man involved was a UFC fighter. Except, he isn’t.
Prosecutors allege that Alexander Popenkov and his wife, Maryana Kayumova, targeted sex workers in a string of thefts. Court documents claim the duo made fake appointments with the workers only to subsequently beat and rob them.
Many sex workers in the area are Russian immigrants.