In Kremenchuk, a scammer swindled nearly 30,000 hryvnias from Nova Poshta

The Avtozavodsky District Court of Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, sentenced a local resident for systematic online fraud involving payments from the company "Nova Poshta." The defendant used the postal operator’s mobile app to illegally obtain monetary compensation for parcels allegedly damaged during transit. 

The court found the woman guilty of committing a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which regulates liability for repeated fraud.

To carry out the criminal scheme, the Kremenchuk resident registered fictitious shipments, filling out express waybills for cosmetics, medicines, and smartphone accessories, after which she sent the parcels to local parcel lockers. After retrieving the cargo, she would personally create the appearance of its damage or destruction, after which she would file official claims for financial compensation via a mobile service, providing knowingly false information regarding the carrier’s fault. Representatives of Nova Poshta LLC, unaware of the fraud, regularly transferred compensation funds to bank cards controlled by the woman, which she spent on her own needs.

Law enforcement officials officially documented six separate instances of illegal activity. The first instance of financial fraud, amounting to 3,704 hryvnias, was recorded on January 5, 2025, and a series of subsequent incidents occurred in the fall of that same year, when the defendant embezzled amounts of 3,800, 3,300, 4,999, 4,350, and 4,124 hryvnias. The total amount of material damage caused to the postal operator amounted to 28,257 hryvnias. During the court hearings, the defendant fully admitted her guilt, sincerely repented of her actions, provided detailed testimony that matched the investigation materials, and returned all the stolen funds to the company.

Despite her full repentance and restitution of the damages, the court sentenced the woman to actual imprisonment due to her prior criminal record. She was sentenced to 2 years in prison for the new crime; however, pursuant to Article 71 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the judges partially combined this sentence with the unserved portion of the sentence imposed by the Kryukiv District Court on March 19, 2024. The final sentence was 5 years and 1 month in prison.