A case of large-scale and multi-episode fraud has been uncovered in Crimea. Injured – 75 people

CrimeaPRESS reports:

In Crimea, a multi-episode criminal case involving a series of remote frauds was brought to court: 75 citizens became victims.

The investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Yalta completed and transferred to the court a criminal case on the facts of remote fraud committed by an organized group, the total damage from the criminal activities of which amounted to more than 12 million rubles— reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.

It all started in January 2022. Then a local resident, who had become a victim of deception, contacted the Yalta police. The applicant reported that she found an Internet site on the Internet where the company offered to purchase a “house set made of laminated veneer lumber.” After studying the information and reviews about the company’s work, the woman contacted the seller and discussed the details of the transaction. A purchase and sale agreement was sent to her postal address indicating the company details.

Inspired by the price and the gift offered for ordering, the citizen transferred payment for the products in the amount of more than one million rubles to the company’s account. However, the goods did not arrive to her within the specified period.the police said.

The Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Yalta opened a criminal case on this fact on the grounds of a crime under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud). And this turned out to be only ONE EPISODE of the activity of a gang of fraudsters.

During operational search activities and investigative actions, police officers uncovered a whole scheme of remote fraud committed by an organized group operating on the territory of the Russian Federation since mid-2021, created for the purpose of stealing citizens’ funds through deception on the Internet information and communication network— reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.

The activities of the criminal group were based on the principles of strict hierarchy, conspiracy, which excluded direct communication between participants, and technical equipment.

The organizer of the criminal group found people willing to sell their shares in the authorized capital of business communities on the Internet. After that, the group members, acting as performers, used dummy persons, the so-called “drops”, from among disadvantaged citizens leading an asocial lifestyle or looking for easy money, to re-register the acquired legal entities for a certain monetary reward and create the appearance of their bona fide commercial activities. These fake citizens were not aware of the criminal activities of the organization and did not exercise actual management of the enterprises. Thus, for opening an account in his name, a “drop” received from 1.5 to 3 thousand rubles, for re-registering a business enterprise in his name — from 10 to 30 thousand rubles.

Using the websites of purchased enterprises that had been operating on the financial market for a long time legally and had a positive financial and business reputation, other performers, members of an organized group, collected orders and payments for goods from citizens for several months, without intending to fulfill their obligations.— the police revealed the circumstances of the case.

Agree, almost «ideal scheme“: there is a “roof” in the form of an official company or individual entrepreneur, there are working sites with a good history, there is an “assortment” of goods and services. All that remains is to find clients and “cheat them out of money».

As part of the investigation, in April 2022, police identified one of the perpetrators, who was acting as part of an organized group. The attacker turned out to be a 41-year-old resident of Yekaterinburg who had no previous convictions. Her tasks were the selection of “drops” for concluding purchase and sale transactions, accompanying these persons to prepare the relevant documents, transferring remote control of the purchased enterprises to other members of the organized group.

In total, during the investigation, 11 legal entities and 3 individual entrepreneurs, both newly created and previously existing, were identified, used by attackers in their criminal activities.

Through the websites of these companies, scammers offered citizens to purchase various goods for an advance or full payment: construction and fuel materials, entire wooden structures — houses, gazebos, cabins, bathhouses, as well as office materials and other products allegedly produced by these enterprises for sale. They used fictitious contracts and purchase and sale agreements to give the appearance of legitimacy to their activities.,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea clarified.

75 citizens — residents of different regions of the Russian Federation, including Bryansk, Tver, Saratov, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, Belgorod, Vologda, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk regions, Krasnodar Territory, the Republics of Adygea and Komi, Moscow and other regions of our country.

The total damage caused to the victims amounted to more than 12.2 million rubles. Based on all the facts, the preliminary investigation authorities initiated criminal cases. By decision of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the criminal cases were combined into one proceeding and transferred to the investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Yalta.

A 41-year-old resident of Yekaterinburg, suspected of fraud, was detained by operatives and placed in custody in Yalta. In total, during the investigation, 82 facts of her illegal activities were established.

The citizen was charged with committing crimes under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale), Part 3 of Article 35, paragraph “b”, Part 2 of Article 173.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( illegal formation (creation, reorganization) of a legal entity committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy)— reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.

The criminal case with the indictment was sent to the court for consideration on the merits. The defendant could face a maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to 10 years.

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