Prominent right-wing influencers including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson, claim to be victims of a fraudulent Russian political disinformation scheme uncovered by the Justice Department on Wednesday.

In an open indictment, the Justice Department charged two Russian citizens, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyev, with acting as unregistered foreign agents and with “conspiracy to launder money.” Both individuals are employees of the Russian state-controlled media company RT.

“The Department of Justice has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media company, with creating and distributing content to a U.S. audience that concealed Russian government messages in a $10 million scheme,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, “RT and its associates, including Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, used nearly $10 million over the past year to secretly fund and run a Tennessee-based online content creation company.”

“To carry out RT’s secret influence campaign in the United States, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva operated under covert identities,” with Kalashnikov posing as an outside editor and editing the company’s content, overseeing its funding and hiring, and introducing Afanasyeva as a member of his supposed editorial team.” The indictment further alleges that two unnamed founders of the company created a fake investor profile under the name “Eduard Grigoriann” to deceive potential participants.

The indictment describes the company as a “network of heterodox commentators focused on Western political and cultural issues.” CNN confirmed Wednesday that the description refers to Tenet Media, a media company that distributes political content from independent writers across multiple platforms.

The creators on the list include Pool, Rubin and Johnson, as well as right-wing podcaster Matt Christiansen, alt-right personality Lauren Southern and commentator Tayler Hansen. None of the creators hired by Tenet Media have been charged with crimes in connection with the program.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, conservatives have become increasingly opposed to U.S. aid to Ukraine, and viewpoints supporting Russia’s position in the war have become widespread in right-wing media. Wednesday’s indictment is by no means the first time Russian state agents have tried to exploit this dynamic to their advantage. In 2022, a leaked Kremlin memo revealed that the Russian government asked pro-state media outlets to re-air clips from former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show – a pattern that has continued despite Carlson’s exit from the network.

Several of the developers denied knowledge that Tenet’s funding and the payments they received from the company were linked to a Russian influence operation.

“If these allegations prove true, I, as well as the other personalities and commentators, have been deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for others at the company, what they do or what they are instructed to do,” Pool wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. “The show is produced entirely by our local team with no outside input. TCW is a standalone company, not affiliated with Timcast.com or any other company. It exists solely to produce the Culture War Podcast.”

Rubin echoed this sentiment, writing in a statement on X: “These allegations clearly demonstrate that I and other commenters were victims of this scheme. I knew absolutely nothing about this fraudulent activity. Period.”

Johnson falsely claimed on X that the lawsuit had been “leaked,” writing, “One year ago, a media startup approached my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard remote contract that was later terminated.”

“We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that I and other influencers were victims of this alleged plot. My lawyers will deal with anyone who claims or suggests otherwise,” he added.

Several of the creators involved in Tenet claimed they had not been contacted by the police or the Justice Department about the matter. Conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon offered a random piece of advice in a tweet on Wednesday: “Remember friends, do not speak to the police without legal counsel. Just trust me.”