A Russian woman has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for trying to kill a woman who looked a lot like her, in a bizarre case recorded in New York.

THE Viktoria Nasyrova tried to kill her beautician, Olga Tsvykoffering her a poisoned piece of cheesecake on August 28, 2016, then tried to steal her passport and work permit.

When she heard the court’s decision about her act, 47-year-old Nasyrova cursed the judge, while the prosecutor called her “ruthless and a fraud”.

Nasyrova “will go to prison for a long time because she tried to murder, in her pursuit of personal gain,” the prosecutor added.

On the day of the assassination attempt, Nasyrova went to Tsvyk’s house in Queens with a cheesecake. She herself ate two pieces and offered the third, poisoned piece to the victim.

The beautician began to vomit and went to lie down. He hallucinated and almost had a heart attack.

Tsvyk’s boyfriend found her unconscious the next day, while a scene with scattered pills had been set up in the room in an attempt to make it look like a suicide.

When Tsvyk returned home from the hospital, her Ukrainian passport, US work permit, jewelry and about $4,000 in cash were gone.

At the time, Tsvyk and Nasyrova were quite similar, with dark hair and the same complexion, and they were both Russian speakers.

A powerful sedative, phenazepam, was found in the remains of the cheesecake, while pills scattered on the floor contained the same substance.