The two have been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer fraud.

An indictment unsealed in federal court in Minneapolis accused the two of creating a phony advertising agency and using it to plant a malicious advertisement in the Minneapolis Star Tribune with the intent of distributing scareware products.

According to the indictment, the pair claimed to represent a hotel chain that wanted to place an advertisement in the Star Tribune. The two are alleged to have provided an electronic ad which the paper ran after testing it and finding it to operate normally.

Sahurovs and Maslibojeva are accused of manipulating the advertisement after it began running so that the computers of those visiting the Star Tribune's website became infected with scareware. The malware caused user computers to lock up and rendered their data inaccessible until they purchased the phony anti-malware product, the indictment said.

A statement released by the FBI today said that the law enforcement authorities had also disrupted operations of a separate criminal gang that was also responsible for distributing scareware products.