By Eric Freedman
A Rochester, N.Y., man who deliberately abandoned and sunk his 25-foot Bayliner in Lake Ontario must pay $15,442 restitution to cover the cost of unnecessary search-and-rescue operations.
Vyacheslav Migitskiy admitted lying to federal investigators about his ownership of the boat, according to court documents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Migitskiy “intentionally sunk the vessel without reporting his actions” on Aug. 25, 2022. The next day, civilians spotted the partially submerged boat, triggering an immediate search-and-rescue operation by the Coast Guard, New York State Police and other agencies.
Their response included “deployment of surface vessels, aircraft and Scuba search teams,” prosecutors said in a news release.
Migitskiy, 34, pleaded guilty to intentionally making a false statement.
According to the plea agreement, he lied to a Coast Guard special agent when claiming he “donated the boat to unnamed individuals, provided false information on how they removed the vessel from his property and provided false information on what they did with the vessel’s trailer.”
The criminal information said, “As the defendant then and there knew, he had not donated the boat to anyone.”
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci ordered Migitskiy to reimburse the Coast Guard $14,194 and to reimburse the State Police $1,248. He also sentenced him to time already served in jail after his arrest.
The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under federal sentencing guidelines and based on his background and record, Migitskiy faced up to six months in jail and a fine of $2,000 to $20,000, according to the plea agreement.