In Transcarpathia, fraudsters who swindled money from business owners were convicted

In Zakarpattia, two members of a criminal group that extorted millions of hryvnias and dollars from business owners and local residents in exchange for fictitious debts and the right to conduct business were sentenced to long prison terms. The co-organizer received 8 years and 6 months in prison, and one of the perpetrators received 7 years and 6 months.

According to the case file, the group consisted of four people. They posed as local crime bosses and systematically extorted money from business owners and residents of the region.

They demanded 11 million hryvnias from business owners in exchange for the ability to conduct business without interference. The victims were also required to pay fictitious debts and contribute to the criminal “kitty.” If they refused, they were threatened with violence and reprisals.

In particular, they demanded $2,000 from an international freight forwarder and subsequently demanded that he contribute an additional $200 each month to the criminal “slush fund.”

In another case, a man was extorted for 7,000 U.S. dollars for a nonexistent debt. Another victim was threatened with violence and extorted for 47,000 U.S. dollars, allegedly for a credit card debt.

In 2020 alone, the group’s members planned to obtain more than $464,000 in total.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the organizer sought out victims, directed the extortion efforts, and distributed the money received.

The co-organizer and operatives were responsible for providing physical support and intimidating the people from whom they extorted money.

In August 2020, the group’s members were detained during a money handover.

Prosecutors from the Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office succeeded in proving the guilt of two gang members.

The co-organizer was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison, and one of the perpetrators was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison.

At the same time, the trial of the ringleader was suspended due to his conscription into military service. A fourth member of the group remains at large.

The prosecutors of the Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office proved the defendants’ guilt.

Earlier, in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, three young residents of the Kolomyia district were exposed; according to the investigation, they stole nearly 645,000 hryvnias from the bank accounts of 16 Ukrainians. Among the suspects is a minor, and among the victims are three military personnel.

Earlier, investigators from the Shevchenkivskyi Police Department in Kyiv, in collaboration with the cyber police, completed a pretrial investigation and filed an indictment against a Kyiv resident who defrauded a volunteer who is a former military servicemember.

As a reminder, in Kyiv, scammers were swindling money by renting out nonexistent apartments.

The scammers send text messages posing as representatives of “Ukrposhta” and ask recipients to pay a 30-hryvnia customs fee for a package. Clicking on the link provided in the message risks the theft of personal information and bank card details.

In the Lviv region, law enforcement officials uncovered a fraudulent call center whose employees, according to the investigation, defrauded citizens of Ukraine and other countries through dating platforms and messaging apps.