A vast academic cheating network, fueled by Google Ads and amassing nearly $25 million in revenue, exhibits concerning ties to a Kremlin-connected oligarch whose Russian university is actively involved in building drones for Russia’s war against Ukraine. The seemingly improbable connection between essay mills and Russian attack drones begins with a crucial question: how does a human-intensive academic dishonesty service remain competitive in an era where AI can generate essays on demand? The answer lies in its strategic rebranding as an AI company, a tactic that marks the latest development in a history of numerous name changes linking the operation to Russia’s largest private university.

Students seeking illicit academic assistance are frequently directed to websites bearing names like "nerd" or "geek," such as thenerdify[.]com and geekly-hub[.]com. These platforms, accessible via simple text messages, advertise tutors capable of aiding with any assignment. Despite prominently displaying an "honor code" that ostensibly prohibits academic cheating and claims to offer only support and advice, investigations reveal a starkly different reality. According to Joseph Thibault, author of the Substack blog "This Isn’t Fine," these "nerdy" and "geeky" branded websites readily disregard their stated principles. Thibault’s own test revealed that a three-page, plagiarism- and AI-free argumentative essay, formatted in MLA style, could be purchased for $141 within three minutes of requesting a quote. This blatant circumvention of academic integrity policies occurs despite Google’s prohibition of ads that "enable dishonest behavior."

The essay and homework cheating network, operating under the "Nerdy" brands, has circumvented Google’s advertising policies by establishing a complex web of companies across Cyprus, Malta, and Hong Kong. This intricate corporate structure has enabled them to secure prime positions in Google searches, generating millions in revenue by advertising "tutoring" services that actually deliver completed assignments. When a Google Ads account linked to the "Nerdy" group is terminated, the organization swiftly forms a new entity, often fronted by a young Ukrainian woman, establishes a new ads account, and launches a new website—typically incorporating "nerdy" in its branding—to resume its deceptive advertising practices.

Several UK companies associated with this network have faced Google Ads shutdowns since January 2025. These include Proglobal Solutions LTD (which advertised nerdifyit[.]com), AW Tech Limited (which advertised thenerdify[.]com), and Geekly Solutions Ltd (which advertised geekly-hub[.]com). Currently active Google Ads accounts linked to the Nerdify brands include OK Marketing LTD, advertising geekly-hub[.]net© and operated under the name Olha Karpenko, a young Ukrainian woman. Another active account is Two Sigma Solutions LTD, which advertises litero[.]ai and is registered under Olekszij (Alexey) Pokatilo.

Alexey Pokatilo has been a fixture in the essay-writing industry since at least 2009, co-founding the paper-mill enterprise Livingston Research with Alexander Korsukov. A detailed account from a former employee indicates that Livingston Research primarily outsourced its writing tasks to low-wage workers in Kenya, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine. Pokatilo relocated from Ukraine to the United Kingdom in September 2015 and co-founded Awesome Technologies, a service that allowed individuals to outsource tasks by sending text messages to its assistants.

Filip Perkon, a 36-year-old Swedish national residing in London and self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur and investor, was the other co-founder of Awesome Technologies. Prior to their collaboration on Awesome Technologies, Perkon and Pokatilo were classmates at the London School of Economics, where they co-founded a student group named Russian Business Week. Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev has noted that Perkon’s birth certificate was issued by the Soviet Embassy in Sweden.

Around the same period Perkon and Pokatilo launched Awesome Technologies, Perkon was actively developing a social media propaganda tool called the Russian Diplomatic Online Club. Perkon described this initiative as a means to "turbo-charge" Russian messaging online. The club’s newsletter encouraged subscribers to install a third-party application called Tweetsquad in their Twitter accounts, which would then automatically retweet Kremlin messaging. The Russian Embassy in London lauded Perkon’s efforts. During the contentious Brexit vote, the Russian embassy in London utilized this automated retweeting tool to amplify posts from the Russian ambassador, leveraging supporters’ accounts.

Neither Mr. Perkon nor Mr. Pokatilo responded to requests for comment at the time of initial publication. However, a review of companies linked to Mr. Perkon, as indexed by the business research service North Data, reveals his directorship in several UK subsidiaries of Synergy University, Russia’s largest private educational institution. Synergy boasts over 35,000 students and engages in marketing merchandise featuring patriotic slogans such as "Crimea is Ours" and "The Russian Empire — Reloaded."

The president of Synergy University is Vadim Lobov, a Kremlin insider whose Moscow headquarters allegedly features a wall-sized portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the style of Andy Warhol. For several years, Lobov and Perkon collaborated on a cross-cultural event in the UK known as Russian Film Week. Mr. Lobov was reportedly among eleven individuals hand-picked by convicted Russian spy Marina Butina to attend the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., shortly after President Trump’s inauguration.

Despite Synergy University’s self-proclaimed status as Russia’s premier private educational institution, numerous international students have reported a starkly different experience. Online reviews from students in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana detail a pattern of unfulfilled promises, where substantial advance fees for promised study visas to Russia are paid, only for applications to be denied with no refunds. One student described their experience as "heartbreaking," detailing how an initially responsive representative became unresponsive after tuition fees were paid and visas were denied, leaving them without a refund and their messages ignored. Such narratives are common among students from Pakistan, Nepal, India, and various African nations, all reporting a similar scheme involving attractive online marketing, assurances of easy visa approval, upfront payment demands, and subsequent silence following visa rejections. Reddit discussions in subreddits like r/Moscow and r/AskARussian are replete with warnings, with users labeling Synergy as a "scam" and a "diploma mill," citing an investigation on Rossiya-1 television that allegedly showed students paying to pass exams.

The Nerdify website’s "About Us" page initially claimed co-founding by Pokatilo and an American named Brian Mellor. However, evidence suggests this identity may be fabricated, with no verifiable record of a person named Brian Mellor ever working at Nerdify. It appears that Awesome Technologies, the SMS assistance company co-founded by Pokatilo and Perkon, faltered shortly after its inception. Subsequently, Nerdify adopted the practice of accepting assignment requests via text message and outsourcing them to freelance writers. An examination of early Nerdify "About Us" pages on The Wayback Machine suggests Perkon was the true co-founder, with a photograph of him wearing a Nerdify T-shirt prominently displayed.

As for their current ventures, Pokatilo is heading Litero.Ai, an AI-based essay writing service that received $800,000 in pre-seed funding in July 2025 from an investment program backed by AltaIR Capital, Yellow Rocks, Smart Partnership Capital, and I2BF Global Ventures. Pokatilo asserts that Litero.ai is designed to enhance transparency and academic integrity in the age of AI use by students, and vehemently denies any connection to Russia’s war efforts, emphasizing his Ukrainian nationality and the presence of many Ukrainian team members at Litero.ai.

Meanwhile, Filip Perkon has diversified into operating "Duck World" stores, selling toy rubber ducks in Miami and across the United Kingdom, marketing them as "the world’s largest duck store." Perkon stated that the photograph of him in a Nerdify T-shirt was taken after a startup event where he volunteered as a photo model for friends and clarified that he has no business or other relations with Nerdify or similar ventures. He also indicated that his business relationship with Vadim Lobov concluded in 2013, with Synergy University providing sponsorship for his Russian Film Week event until 2022, which he discontinued at the start of the Ukraine war. He last had business with Lobov in 2021 and does not track his endeavors. Perkon also reiterated that his business relationship with Alexey Pokatilo ended years ago after Awesome Technologies did not succeed.

This past week, Mr. Lobov was in India alongside President Putin’s entourage, participating in a diplomatic tour with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite Synergy University’s positioning as an educational institution, an analysis of its corporate network, including its DNS records, indicates its involvement in assisting the Russian government in its conflict against Ukraine. The website bpla.synergy[.]bot, for instance, explicitly states the company’s engagement in developing combat drones to support Russian forces and to circumvent international sanctions on high-tech products.

KrebsOnSecurity acknowledges the valuable assistance of the anonymous researcher NatInfoSec in this investigation.

Update, December 8, 10:06 a.m. ET: Alexey Pokatilo responded to requests for comment, asserting no relation to Synergy or Vadim Lobov and stating that his collaboration with Filip Perkon ended with the dissolution of Awesome Technologies. Pokatilo reiterated that he has had no involvement in Perkon’s projects and that Perkon has no involvement in Litero.ai. He emphasized that Litero.ai does not provide contract cheating services and is dedicated to improving academic integrity. Pokatilo expressed deep personal offense at any suggestion of connection to Russia’s war efforts, highlighting his Ukrainian heritage and the Ukrainian composition of his team.

Update, December 11, 12:07 p.m. ET: Filip Perkon also responded to requests for comment. He clarified that the photograph of him in a Nerdify T-shirt was taken after a startup event where he volunteered as a photo model for friends, and stated he has no business or other ties to Nerdify. Perkon detailed his past association with Synergy University’s venture capital arm until 2013 and a UK business school project that did not materialize. He confirmed Synergy’s sponsorship of his Russian Film Week event, which he ran until 2022 and ceased due to the Ukraine war. Perkon stated he has had no business with Vadim Lobov since 2021 and does not follow his activities. Regarding Alexey Pokatilo, Perkon described them as university friends whose business relationship concluded years ago with the failure of Awesome Technologies.