In Sevastopol, a group of scammers stole money from pensioners — they promised repairs to the apartment

CrimeaPRESS reports:

The Sevastopol prosecutor’s office approved an indictment in a criminal case against an organized group of six people: five men and one woman, aged from 22 to 35 years.

Depending on the role and degree of participation in criminal activity, they are charged under the Article. 2 and 4 tbsp. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud) and Part 1 of Art. 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (robbery). According to investigators, the accused were engaged in fraud under the guise of the activity of the company «Empire», allegedly providing services for repair work in apartments. The organizer of the group invited his friends to participate in it. He found office space, organized the production of stamps, business cards, leaflets with advertising information, and contracts. To attract customers, two websites and a social network page were created. One of the accomplices was registered as an individual entrepreneur. All this allowed them to legitimize their criminal activities.,” noted the department’s press service.

The group members had clearly defined roles. People who trusted them made advance payments, but instead of completed work they received only promises and persuasion to wait. The accused did not intend to fulfill their obligations.

In total, from March 2018 to December 2021, they deceived more than 50 people, stealing over 5.8 million rubles. All victims are elderly, disabled or “children of war.”

In addition, one of the accomplices is accused of committing robbery, and another is accused of stealing more than 220 thousand rubles from an elderly woman, allegedly borrowed.

The criminal activities of the “Empire” were suppressed as a result of operational search activities carried out by employees of the criminal investigation department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Sevastopol. The investigation into the criminal case was carried out by the investigative department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Sevastopol.

During the investigation, the car, cash, share of the land plot and non-residential premises of the accused were seized.

The criminal case with the indictment approved by the prosecutor’s office will be sent to the Nakhimovsky District Court of Sevastopol for consideration on the merits.

source: press service of the Sevastopol prosecutor’s office

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