Court Sentences Woman for 150K Fraud as Single Mother in Mykolaiv

In Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv region, a woman who had been receiving payments as a single mother for several years was brought to court. In this way, she illegally took possession of state budget funds in the amount of almost UAH 150 thousand.

She was sentenced by the Pervomaisk City District Court.

According to the case file, from 2019 to 2021, the accused regularly applied to the Department of Social Protection of the Pervomaisk City Council, where she provided deliberately false information about her family situation. In the documents, she indicated that she was raising three children on her own, without any financial support from their father.

In fact, the woman had been living with her husband all this time and running a joint household with him. Thanks to this scheme, she was able to illegally receive assistance as a single mother for almost three years.

The court found the woman guilty under Part 1 of Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud) and sentenced her to a 1-year restriction of liberty with a probationary period. She was also ordered to return the illegally obtained funds to the state in the amount of UAH 149,500 thousand.

Also in Mykolaiv region, an official is suspected of embezzling budget funds allocated for the repair of a shelter in a lyceum. The official entered false information in the certificates of completion, overstating the volume and cost of construction materials. As a result, the budget suffered losses of over UAH 73 thousand. The court imposed on him a measure of restraint in the form of house arrest.

In addition, the chief of staff of one of the military units was suspected of unreasonably charging additional payments to military personnel who did not participate in hostilities. The state suffered losses of more than UAH 4.3 million.

In Ukraine, the number of fraud cases decreased in 2024. In total, more than 60,000 criminal proceedings were opened, but only one in four cases goes to trial. Some of them involve officials.

Андрій Колісніченко