The Russian channel has given out the swindler who has run from New York, for the American expert

Photos: Gregory Vinnikov's personal Facebook page

In the Russian talk show on Channel One, a man appears, who is represented as “US journalist Greg Weiner.” But he was not a journalist, but a Russian-speaking businessman, whose name was Grigory Vinnikov. Moreover, a businessman with a bad reputation: he disappeared from New York 5 years ago, along with the money of many clients who consider him a fraud.

«Medusa»Tried to sort out this story.

18 on April, Alexander Grant, the host of the “Contact” program on the American Russian-language TV channel RTN, turned on the TV in a Moscow hotel where he was on a business trip — he wondered what his Russian colleagues were talking about. The First Studio was on Channel One - Artem Sheinin’s daily political talk show. As always, the studio was loud - they discussed the aggravation of the situation around North Korea and its opposition to the United States. A minute after the start of the transfer, Grant heard a familiar voice. “I will tell you how my dear, do not tell anyone. Quiet! - grabbed the attention of the lead guest, who was introduced as a journalist Greg Weiner. “A trade quarantine will be introduced against North Korea!”

Grant could not be mistaken. Greg Weiner he knew already 20 years. And not only he: the “journalist” was generally well known to the New York Russian-speaking community - only under a different name.

Photo: video frame

As another American TV presenter, Gennady Katsov, said, he was acquainted with Weiner as Grigory Vinnikov, who emigrated to the USA from the USSR as early as 1980. At the beginning of 1990, Vinnikov opened a travel company in America Eastern Tours Consolidatedwhich was engaged in the sale of tickets to Russia and back and help in obtaining visas. The business went smoothly - until 2012, when Vinnikov had a debt for renting office space in Brooklyn and Manhattan. After that, the businessman disappeared, and the offices closed, Katov claims.

The situation was complicated by the fact that shortly before the bankruptcy Vinnikova company began to provide a variety of legal services - for example, the design of Russian pensions. He took the documents from some clients: according to the publication RuNYWeb, journalist Valentina Pechorina paid about $ 600 for the renewal of a Russian passport, and the former owner of the New Russian Word edition Valery Weinberg paid $ 650 for an urgent visa to Russia.

According to Katsov, in the fall of 2012, Vinnikov called him and several other Russian journalists in New York and said that he had fled to his homeland because of a financial collapse - at some point he allegedly "wanted to rush from the balcony." He promised to pay off people when he received money for a penthouse in New Jersey for sale.

Another American journalist, Seva Kaplan, told Medusa that he was going to become the organizer of a collective civil suit of victims, but when it turned out that Vinnikov was in Russia, no one went to court because the US and Russian jurisdictions were “very difficult to overlap.” Katsov told Medusa that Vinnikov still owes him $ 10 thousand, which Katz paid the entrepreneur for arranging visas for musicians - 2 a week before Vinnikov disappeared.

Medusa contacted Grigori Vinnikov himself. He claims that he has returned the documents to all clients, but he cannot pay off the debts, because there has not yet been found a buyer for the penthouse. “If I ever sell, I’m happy to pay off debts to clients - if anything remains after paying off debts and credits,” Vinnikov said, specifying separately that no legal action had been filed against him.

Vinnikov claims that he quit his business and went to Russia not only for financial reasons.

“I was sick of 2 of the year, I went here, and here I was already diagnosed with rectal cancer,” says a former businessman who, after a course of treatment, remained to live in St. Petersburg.

Vinnikov considers it normal that in television programs he is called a journalist: this was exactly his specialty at the university, moreover, “from time to time” he spoke on radio and television.

Gennady Katsov confirms: back in 1980's, before going into business, Vinnikov organized round tables in America, at which Russian-speaking politicians and media representatives discussed current issues; he was sometimes called on the airs in 2000 as well - including Katz himself in his Press Club program, where he represented Vinnikov as a political commentator.

“He is quite articulated and well informed, in this regard I have no complaints about him,” said Katsov. - He is not a writing journalist, he never had any articles. But he has a sufficiently developed analytical apparatus. ”

According to the TV presenter, it was Vinnikov who invented the “Contact” program in 2003 and offered it to the American channel RTN - but a month later refused to keep it, unable to withstand the daily schedule. He was replaced, in particular, by the same Alexander Grant, who many years later noticed an entrepreneur on the First Channel.

“I didn’t run away and hide,” Vinnikov told Medusa. “I don’t look like an idiot who thinks that they won’t be noticed on the federal channels.” How he got on Russian television, Vinnikov does not tell. At the same time, according to him, once the producers of one of the channels asked him to “Americanize” his name and surname - this is how he became Greg Weiner. On the question of whether he earns on his appearances in political talk shows, Vinnikov-Weiner refused to answer.

The host of the Open Studio program Inna Karpushina on Channel Five, where expert Greg Weiner appeared, told Medusa that she does not participate in the selection of program experts who are invited by producers. She declined further comment. On the First Channel also declined to comment.

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