United States v. Malakhov — 2d Cir. (Sep 21, 2026)

No. 25-1319 Argued September 21, 2026 Published September 27, 2026

A federal research grant leads to a dispute over two hundred thousand dollars in restitution. In 2017, the National Science Foundation awarded Malakhov's company, Solid Cell, a grant for a research project. He drew two hundred thousand dollars and later admitted using some grant money for unrelated expenses. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor conversion of government money. The district court ordered full repayment, reasoning that he falsely certified the project's lead researcher was available when he drew the funds. Assistant Federal Public Defender Kathryn Austin will argue for Malakhov that his plea covered the later spending, not the certification, and that the government failed to establish a two hundred thousand dollar loss. The government will defend the award; the judges also ask whether the misdemeanor limits restitution to one thousand dollars.

United States v. Malakhov (No. 25-1319) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued September 21, 2026.

Sources

Argument audio — Second Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/audio/25-1319.mp3

Argument listing and date — Second Circuit:https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/oral_arguments.html

Restitution decision — U.S. District Court, W.D.N.Y.:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-nywd-6_22-cr-06093/pdf/USCOURTS-nywd-6_22-cr-06093-4.pdf

Plea and grant background — U.S. Attorney's Office, W.D.N.Y.:https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/rochester-business-leader-pleads-guilty-misusing-federal-grant-funding

Appeal docket and defense counsel — Second Circuit:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca2/25-1319

Kathryn Austin's office — Federal Public Defender, W.D.N.Y.:https://nyw.fd.org/contact

Melissa Marangola's office — U.S. Attorney, W.D.N.Y.:https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/criminal-division

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