A Russian man sneaked on to a flight to LAX. The reason is still a mystery, but now he has to pay

A man who boarded a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles with no ticket, visa or passport was sentenced Tuesday to 93 days and ordered to pay $2,174 — the cost of a one-way ticket from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, officials said.

But prosecutors and defense lawyers have still been unable to explain why he did it.

Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, 46, who according to court records has a PhD and no known criminal record, slipped his way way past airport security in Copenhagen and stowed away on a plane for a more than 12-hour flight on Nov. 4.

According to prosecutors, Ochigava entered an access-controlled terminal at Copenhagen Airport on Nov. 3 by following another traveler and simply mimicking the motion of scanning a pass. When he was spotted by officials, he was ordered to stay in an area of the terminal while his visa overstay was resolved.

Instead, according to court records, Ochigava on Nov. 4 followed a surge of passengers at one of the gates, walked onto Scandinavian Airlines Flight SK 931 and took one of the empty seats without drawing attention.

The first time Ochigava — who did hold Russian and Israeli passports — was questioned about his presence was when he tried to walk into the business-class section of the plane, according to court records. Flight attendants questioned Ochigava about his seat, but he instead turned around and sat down in one of the empty seats in coach.

According to court records, Ochigava sat in different seats, asked for two in-flight meals and also tried to take a cabin crew member’s chocolate bar during the flight.

Once he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, Ochigava continued to try to evade officials.

According to court filings, he told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials he had forgotten his passport in the airplane.

When he was asked to provide officials his flight and personal information to look him up, Ochigava gave the false name of “Sergey Schlomo,” according to court records.

It was after agents were able to look through Ochigava’s phone and found a Russian document with his name that they realized he had boarded the international flight and arrived at Los Angeles with no ticket or passport.

Federal prosecutors had argued for a sentence of six months in prison, arguing that Ochigava had “shown no remorse or regret for his conduct.”

But Ochigava’s attorneys asked U.S. District Judge George H. Wu for a sentence of time served, arguing that the defendant had been in custody since Nov. 4 and had experienced a series of “personal tragedies.” In consideration for his sentencing, friends and family had shared with the judge letters detailing what they said were “personal difficulties” recently endured by Ochigava, but the letters were submitted under seal.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office said it was unclear why Ochigava boarded the plane to Los Angeles.

His attorneys also said Ochigava had no known criminal history.

On Tuesday, Wu sentenced Ochigava for time served, but court records also indicate he will be taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

Ochigava was also ordered to pay $2,174 in restitution to Scandanavian Airlines. His attorneys had argued against the payment of restitution, pointing out that about one-third of the seats in economy, where Ochigava sat, were empty anyway.