An extensive academic cheating operation, boosted by Google Ads and reportedly earning nearly $25 million, has been linked to a Kremlin-affiliated oligarch. This individual’s Russian university is involved in producing drones for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
The Nerdify homepage.
The connection between essay mills and Russian combat drones may appear unlikely. However, to grasp this link, one must consider how a labor-intensive academic cheating service remains viable when students can readily use AI for their assignments. The solution involves repositioning the business as an AI company, marking the latest evolution in a series of rebrands that tie this operation to Russia’s largest private university.
Searching Google for terms like “help with exam online” or “term paper online” often leads to websites containing “nerd” or “geek” in their names, such as thenerdify[.]com and geekly-hub[.]com. These platforms allow users to hire tutors for assignments through a simple text message request.
Despite these “nerdy” and “geeky” websites often promoting an “honor code” that disavows academic cheating and claims to only offer support, This Isn’t Fine, a Substack blog investigating contract cheating, reports that Nerdify-branded sites readily disregard this policy.
According to Joseph Thibault, author of This Isn’t Fine, a test involving an SMS price quote revealed that a complete three-page, plagiarism- and AI-free MLA formatted argumentative essay could be acquired for $141, indicating a departure from their stated honor code.
A screenshot from Joseph Thibault’s Substack post shows the purchase of a 3-page paper using the Nerdify service.
Google’s policies forbid advertisements that promote dishonest conduct. Nevertheless, a vast international network for essay and homework cheating, operating under “Nerdy” brands, has consistently secured top positions in Google search results. This network has generated nearly $25 million in revenue through a complex structure of companies based in Cyprus, Malta, and Hong Kong, often marketing its services as “tutoring” while providing completed assignments for students.
Upon the closure of a Google Ads account associated with the “Nerdy” brands, the group would establish a new entity, typically using a young Ukrainian woman as a front. This new entity would then create a fresh ads account, launch a new website and domain (often incorporating “nerdy” into the brand), and continue advertising for the same keywords on Google.
Several UK companies linked to the group have been shut down by Google Ads since January 2025:
- Proglobal Solutions LTD (advertised nerdifyit[.]com);
- AW Tech Limited (advertised thenerdify[.]com);
- Geekly Solutions Ltd (advertised geekly-hub[.]com).
Currently active Google Ads accounts for the Nerdify brands include:
- OK Marketing LTD (advertising geekly-hub[.]net), registered under the name of Olha Karpenko;
- Two Sigma Solutions LTD (advertising litero[.]ai), registered under the name of Olekszij (Alexey) Pokatilo.
Google’s Ads Transparency page for current Nerdify advertiser OK Marketing LTD.
Mr. Pokatilo has been involved in the essay-writing industry since at least 2009, managing Livingston Research, a paper-mill operation, with Alexander Korsukov as a listed owner. A detailed account from a former employee indicates that Livingston Research primarily outsourced its writing assignments to low-cost labor in Kenya, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine.
In September 2015, Pokatilo relocated from Ukraine to the United Kingdom and co-founded Awesome Technologies. This company offered a service allowing individuals to outsource tasks by sending text messages to its assistants.
The co-founder of Awesome Technologies is Filip Perkon, a 36-year-old Swedish resident in London, who identifies as a serial entrepreneur and investor. Prior to Awesome Technologies, Perkon and Pokatilo established a student organization called Russian Business Week during their time as classmates at the London School of Economics. Investigative journalist Christo Grozev reported that Perkon’s birth certificate was issued by the Soviet Embassy in Sweden.
Alexey Pokatilo (left) and Filip Perkon at a Facebook event for startups in San Francisco in mid-2015.
Concurrently with the launch of Awesome Technologies, Perkon developed the Russian Diplomatic Online Club, a social media propaganda tool intended to amplify Russian online messaging. The club’s newsletter encouraged subscribers to install a third-party Twitter application called Tweetsquad, designed to retweet Kremlin messages.
The Russian Embassy in London commended Perkon’s work. During the Brexit vote, which resulted in the UK’s departure from the European Union, the embassy utilized this automated tweeting tool to automatically retweet the Russian ambassador’s posts from supporter accounts.
Neither Mr. Perkon nor Mr. Pokatilo provided comments when requested.
An examination of companies linked to Mr. Perkon, conducted by the business research service North Data, reveals his past and present directorships in several UK subsidiaries of Synergy University, Russia’s largest private education provider. Synergy, with over 35,000 students, also markets T-shirts featuring patriotic slogans like “Crimea is Ours” and “The Russian Empire — Reloaded.”
Vadim Lobov, president of Synergy University and a Kremlin insider, reportedly has a wall-sized pop-art portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the university’s Moscow headquarters. For several years, Lobov and Perkon collaborated on Russian Film Week, a cross-cultural event in the UK.
Synergy President Vadim Lobov and Filip Perkon, speaking at a press conference for Russian Film Week, a cross-cultural event in the U.K. co-produced by both men.
Mr. Lobov was among 11 individuals reportedly selected by convicted Russian spy Marina Butina to attend the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., shortly after President Trump’s first inauguration.
Although Synergy University presents itself as Russia’s largest private educational institution, numerous international students offer a contrasting perspective. Online reviews describe a pattern of unfulfilled promises, where prospective students from countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana paid substantial advance fees for promised Russian study visas, only to face application denials without receiving refunds.
One account describes an experience with Synergy University as “heartbreaking.” The student reported that a representative was initially highly responsive and helpful, fostering a sense of security. However, after tuition fees were paid, the visa was denied. Over nine months later, despite promises, no refund was issued, and messages were ignored by the previously responsive representative. The student questioned how a European institution could exploit the hopes and life savings of African individuals, labeling the practice as unethical and predatory.
This consistent pattern is echoed in reviews from multilingual students across Pakistan, Nepal, India, and various African nations. They all describe a similar scheme: appealing online marketing, assurances of straightforward visa approval, demands for upfront payments, followed by a lack of communication after visa applications are rejected.
Discussions on Reddit, specifically in r/Moscow and r/AskARussian, contain numerous warnings. One user described it as “a scam, a diploma mill,” stating that “They literally sell exams. There was an investigation on Rossiya-1 television showing students paying to pass tests.”
The “About Us” page on the Nerdify website states that the company was co-founded by Pokatilo and an American named Brian Mellor. However, this identity appears to be fabricated, as there is no evidence of anyone by that name ever working at Nerdify.
It seems that Awesome Technologies, the SMS assistance company co-founded by Pokatilo and Perkon, quickly failed after its inception. Subsequently, Nerdify adopted a similar model, accepting assignment requests via text message and forwarding them to freelance writers.
An examination of an archived “About Us” page for Nerdify on The Wayback Machine indicates that Mr. Perkon was the actual co-founder. A photograph at the top of this page displays four individuals in Nerdify T-shirts seated at a table on a San Francisco rooftop deck, with Perkon visible facing the camera.
Filip Perkon, top right, is pictured wearing a Nerdify T-shirt in an archived copy of the company’s About Us page. Image: archive.org.
Regarding their current activities, Pokatilo operates Litero.Ai, a startup that appears to be an AI-based essay writing service. In July 2025, Mr. Pokatilo secured $800,000 in pre-seed funding for Litero through an investment program supported by AltaIR Capital, Yellow Rocks, Smart Partnership Capital, and I2BF Global Ventures.
Concurrently, Filip Perkon is establishing toy rubber duck stores in Miami and at least three locations in the United Kingdom. These “Duck World” establishments are promoted as “the world’s largest duck store.”
Recently, Mr. Lobov accompanied Putin’s entourage in India during a diplomatic visit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite Synergy’s portrayal as an educational institution, an analysis of its extensive corporate presence (via DNS) indicates its involvement in supporting the Russian government’s war efforts against Ukraine.
Synergy University President Vadim Lobov (right) pictured this week in India next to Natalia Popova, a Russian TV presenter known for her close ties to Putin’s family, particularly Putin’s daughter, who works with Popova at the education and culture-focused Innopraktika Foundation.
For example, the website bpla.synergy[.]bot states that the company is engaged in developing combat drones to support Russian forces and circumvent international sanctions on high-tech product supply and re-export.
A screenshot from the website of synergy.bot shows the company is actively engaged in building armed drones for the war in Ukraine.
The anonymous researcher NatInfoSec provided assistance in this investigation.
Update, Dec. 8, 10:06 a.m. ET: Mr. Pokatilo provided comments following the story’s publication. He stated he has no connection to Synergy or Mr. Lobov, and his collaboration with Mr. Perkon concluded with the disbandment of Awesome Technologies.
Pokatilo asserted that he has “had no involvement in any of his projects and business activities mentioned in the article and he has no involvement in Litero.ai,” referring to Perkon.
He further stated that his new company, Litero, “does not provide contract cheating services and is built specifically to improve transparency and academic integrity in the age of universal use of AI by students.”
Pokatilo emphasized his Ukrainian nationality, noting that “My close friends, colleagues, and some family members continue to live in Ukraine under the ongoing invasion. Any suggestion that I or my company may be connected in any way to Russia’s war efforts is deeply offensive on a personal level and harmful to the reputation of Litero.ai, a company where many team members are Ukrainian.”
Update, Dec. 11, 12:07 p.m. ET: Mr. Perkon also responded after the story’s publication. He explained that the photo of him in a Nerdify T-shirt was taken after a San Francisco startup event, where he volunteered as a photo model to assist friends with their project.
Mr. Perkon stated, “I have no business or other relations to Nerdify or any other ventures in that space.” Regarding Vadim Lobov, he mentioned working for Synergy’s Venture Capital arm until 2013 and on a UK business school project that did not launch, leading to the related company becoming dormant. He added that Synergy later sponsored his Russian Film Week event, which he created and managed in the UK until 2022, becoming the biggest independent Russian film festival outside Russia. He closed the festival after the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.
Perkon clarified, “I have had no business with Vadim Lobov since 2021 (the last film festival) and I don’t keep track of his endeavours.” He also noted that his business relationship with Alexey Pokatilo, a university friend, ended many years ago after the concierge service Awesome Technologies was unsuccessful.
