Major Update – October 2025

Thank you to everyone who has supported and shared this petition. Your voices have already helped bring oversight attention to a growing pattern of foreign interference and misuse of U.S. institutions.
This is a major update, reflecting new FOIA records, Federal Tort Claims Act filings, and sworn affidavits documenting how foreign and domestic actors retaliated against the family of the retired U.S. Army ER physician after they exercised their right to sue in American courts.

A medical doctor, who served 35 years in the U.S. Army as an ER physician, and his family seek safety and accountability after years of cross-border harassment.

Dr. Boris Zavadovsky served American servicemembers for 35 years as an emergency physician at U.S. Army hospitals in Germany. After retiring to Florida with his wife Elena Dvoinik, the family became targets of foreign-linked retaliation reaching from Austria to U.S. agencies and universities.

🇦🇹 The Austrian Connection and Retaliation

In May 2022, the couple filed their first U.S. lawsuit seeking justice for Austrian extortion and unlawful seizure of approximately $6 million in property, after Austrian officials and intermediaries demanded payment for the return of their assets and family archives.

Only days after service of process, Austrian authorities fabricated a “criminal investigation” accusing them of forging a $988 Miami optometrist invoice and committing $988 insurance fraud — charges built on stolen and misused U.S. records, including Dr. Zavadovsky’s Army medical files.

In November 2022, DOJ Office of International Affairs attorney Liudmila Batista, assisted by Michelle Charles, transmitted Austrian criminal subpoenas and investigation notices by FedEx directly to the plaintiffs in Florida, outside any lawful treaty procedure. The untranslated German and Russian documents were later cited in Austria as proof of service and used to justify a foreign wanted-list entry, foreclosure of their Austrian home, and seizure of family archives.

The timing was no coincidence. Earlier that month, the Austrian Embassy had unsuccessfully asked the U.S. Department of State to intervene and “assist in early dismissal” of the lawsuit. After the State Department refused — citing separation of powers — Florida lawyers Elke Rolff and Dale Webner appeared purporting to represent Austria. Both were paid from Austrian government budgets to represent ten Austrian officials who were never sued in any capacity. They have admitted receiving Austrian funds while never registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

New State Department records (FOIA F-2025-14814) confirm that in October 2022 the Austrian Embassy met with U.S. officials and requested diplomatic assistance to secure an early dismissal of the plaintiffs’ cases. This shows Austria sought to influence U.S. judicial proceedings outside formal legal channels.

The funding and coordination behind Rolff and Webner’s activities are now the subject of money-laundering allegations raised in ongoing federal filings and administrative complaints.

🇺🇸 Department of Justice and U.S. Secret Service Involvement

Federal Tort Claims Act submissions describe how DOJ officials transmitted foreign criminal materials without authorization, exchanged litigation filings with unregistered Austrian lawyers, and legitimized forged “diplomatic” notes. 

Despite repeated warnings — including an October 2022 letter, FOIA complaints, and OIG filings — DOJ took no corrective action and continued to treat those lawyers as Austria’s official representatives.

Documents also show that a U.S. Secret Service report was shared with Austrian police and later appeared in court filings by Austrian-funded counsel. Internal FOIA correspondence from the Secret Service was found among those filings, raising questions about how sensitive U.S. data was handled and weaponized abroad.

These actions deepened the family’s harassment, reputational damage, and emotional distress — now formally detailed in their IIED and FTCA claims.

🇺🇸 DOJ Advocacy for Austria

On July 3, 2025, the Director of the DOJ’s Federal Programs Branch, Alexander K. Haas, sent a letter to the plaintiffs threatening sanctions for challenging the authenticity of Austrian “Notes Verbales” filed through DOJ attorneys in both federal and state cases.
In that letter, DOJ explicitly admitted that it had transmitted at least three separate diplomatic submissions from the Austrian Embassy to U.S. courts, including those filed in Zavadovsky v. Peschorn (Fla. 13th Jud. Cir.), Zavadovsky v. Cheatle (D.D.C.), and Zavadovsky v. Austria (D.D.C.).
These actions, in which DOJ effectively defended Austrian filings and sought to discourage judicial review, constitute de facto advocacy for a foreign sovereign and raise serious concerns under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the U.S. Constitution’s separation-of-powers principles.

The plaintiffs maintain that the Department’s role should be limited to representing the United States — not intervening to validate foreign diplomatic materials that have not been independently authenticated.

🇨🇿 The Czech Consul Episode

In 2023–2024, Czech Consul Adam Lorenc, posted in Bogotá, Colombia, contacted Elena on her litigation-only WhatsApp number, booked the family’s foreclosed Austrian property in his own name, and was later seen at Florida State University beside Dean Jessica Dworkin.

Soon after that encounter, FSU administrators delayed Elena’s final grades, spread rumors questioning her citizenship, and ultimately denied her J.D.–transfer application — abruptly cutting off her eligibility for the Florida Bar despite her cum laude LL.M. record.

In the months that followed, the family began experiencing a series of alarming incidents: vehicles parked near their residence for long hours, a roof fire that broke out directly above their apartment at 401 W. Park Avenue in Tallahassee on April 2 2024 (Tallahassee Fire Department Incident No. 24-0010657), and the discovery on April 13 2024 of a small electronic component affixed to the interior wall, later logged by police as a suspected listening device (TPD Case No. 2024-00061587).
These events intensified the family’s fear of ongoing surveillance and retaliation.

On September 29 2025, Elena formally asked the FBI and State Department OIG to conduct a behavioral threat assessment and review possible unauthorized consular activity by Consul Lorenc inside the United States.

🏛 Florida State University and Record Withholding

Separate Florida cases — Dvoinik v. Busch (2025-CA-001603) and Dvoinik v. FSU Board of Trustees (2025-CA-001522) — document academic retaliation and public-records violations. FSU has admitted possession of 361 emails involving persons connected to defendants in plaintiffs’ litigations yet continues to withhold them despite payment and a pending writ of mandamus.
These communications must be released in full.

⚠️ What We Ask

Congress — Hold oversight hearings on foreign influence in U.S. courts, agencies, and universities.
FBI — Complete the requested threat assessment and recommend protective measures.
State Department OIG / DSS — Investigate unauthorized consular activities by Czech Consul Adam Lorenc.
Department of Justice (DOJ) — Review its handling of Austrian and related foreign requests, ensure compliance with MLAT and FARA statutes, and publish findings to Congress and the Inspector General.
U.S. Secret Service (USSS) — Audit and explain the release of investigative materials that reached foreign authorities.
Florida State University (FSU) — Conduct an internal investigation into potential First Amendment retaliation and academic freedom violations against Elena Dvoinik, ensure that protected speech and legal activity are not used as grounds for disciplinary or administrative action, and release the 27 emails referencing Consul Lorenc and the remaining 361 emails involving persons connected to defendants in plaintiffs’ cases.

✊ Stand for Accountability and Safety

Foreign governments must never intimidate individuals or misuse legal systems across borders.
Please sign and share this petition to demand transparency, lawful oversight, and protection for those targeted through foreign retaliation.

Your continued support — from the United States and around the world — shows that people everywhere stand united against corruption and abuse of power.

Thank you for standing with our family, and with everyone who believes in justice, due process, and the rule of law.

Update (October 2025): The related case Zavadovsky v. Cheatle was dismissed. A motion for default judgment against the Republic of Austria is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. New FOIA records (F-2025-14814) confirm Austria’s diplomatic request for early dismissal of the plaintiffs’ cases.