Fraudsters who swindled people out of more than ₴3 million under the guise of selling dietary supplements were exposed in Kyiv
The National Police of Ukraine has uncovered a criminal group that, according to the investigation, lured money out of people under the guise of selling dietary supplements, using the pretext of lucrative “investments.” More than 30 victims have been preliminarily identified, and the amount of damages exceeds 3 million hryvnias.
The criminal group was exposed by operatives from the Criminal Investigation Department in collaboration with investigators from the Main Investigation Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine.
According to law enforcement officials, the participants in the scheme had clearly defined roles. Some sought out potential victims and exerted psychological pressure on them, while others were responsible for telephone communications, sending packages, and subsequently converting the received funds into cash.
The first contact with potential victims began with an offer to purchase dietary supplements.
The callers introduced themselves as doctors or employees of medical companies, tried to gain people’s trust, and told them about the opportunity to earn additional income.
Victims were offered a supposedly lucrative investment opportunity in a “Swiss charitable foundation.” The scammers described the terms of these “investments” in detail, promising a guaranteed return of their money and interest payments.
In reality, however, no such Swiss charitable foundation existed.
People were sent packages containing dietary supplements through post offices, which they were required to purchase. The cost of the supplements was several times higher than their actual price.
The money paid for the packages was subsequently embezzled by the scheme’s participants, who passed it off as “investment contributions.”
Police operatives and investigators have already identified more than 30 people who may have fallen victim to the fraudulent scheme.
According to preliminary data, the total amount of losses incurred by the victims exceeds 3 million hryvnias.
As part of the investigative and operational measures carried out, law enforcement officers detained the organizer of the scam—a 43-year-old resident of Kyiv.
He was notified of his status as a suspect under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—fraud committed on an especially large scale under martial law.
A 42-year-old Kyiv resident was also notified of being suspected under the same article.
Law enforcement officers are currently identifying all possible members of the group and investigating the circumstances of other instances of fraud.
The suspects’ guilt must be proven in accordance with the law.
This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
Earlier, police investigators in the Odesa region completed an investigation into three men suspected of large-scale fraud involving the sale of nonexistent luxury cars. According to the investigation, the perpetrators defrauded 14 citizens from various regions of Ukraine of nearly 2 million hryvnias.
In Kyiv, law enforcement officers detained two men suspected of defrauding the 13-year-old daughter of a military servicemember. The perpetrators forced the girl to hand over the family’s savings, totaling approximately 2.5 million hryvnias.
As a reminder, in Zaporizhzhia, a pretrial investigation was completed into an organized group whose members posed as employees of Kazakhstani bank security services and tricked citizens into revealing their bank card details, after which they embezzled their funds.
In Volyn, the State Bureau of Economic Security uncovered tax evasion totaling nearly ₴28 million in the flower business.
