In Kyiv, pensioners have fallen victim to fraudsters who concocted elaborate schemes to steal large sums of money.
According to information published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, the court's ruling details two instances of fraud.
The criminals operated under a scheme that frightened elderly individuals with fabricated stories about serious problems involving their relatives.
In the first case, the scammers called an elderly woman, posing as her neighbor who had supposedly been hospitalized after a car accident. They claimed that urgent funds were needed for treatment, and within a few hours, a "trusted person" collected 40,000 hryvnias from the woman.
In the second case, the fraudsters convinced a pensioner that his wife was allegedly responsible for a car accident that resulted in the death of an individual. The scammers assured the man that to avoid criminal liability, he needed to pay "compensation". Initially, he handed over 100,000 hryvnias, and later another 200,000.
In total, the criminals managed to acquire 340,000 hryvnias. The funds in both instances were collected by the individual involved in the case, who coordinated actions with other participants in the scheme.
The court found the man guilty of fraud under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was sentenced to four years in prison; however, the punishment was replaced with a three-year probationary period. Currently, the convicted individual can only leave the country with permission, must report any changes in residence, work, or study, regularly appear before probation authorities, and either find employment or contact the employment service. Additionally, he must apologize to the victims.
As reported by Politeka,