Mykolaiv Oblast hospital accountant sentenced for schemes with payments to IDPs

In Mykolaiv region, a court convicted a hospital accountant who had been illegally receiving compensation for allegedly accommodating IDPs for almost two years. She regularly submitted false data and misappropriated funds intended to support IDPs.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

The court found that the woman was aware of the state program of payments for those who provide free housing to IDPs. Since the summer of 2022, she decided to use this opportunity for her own enrichment, although she did not actually settle anyone in her house.

The scheme consisted in submitting applications to the Vradiyivka village council on behalf of her husband, the owner of the house. In the documents, she provided false information about the alleged residence of several IDPs and indicated the number of so-called "person-days" for which compensation was accrued. The funds were transferred to her husband's account, after which she used them for her own needs.

The first cases were recorded in July and August 2022, when she illegally received more than 1,300 hryvnias per month. Subsequently, the woman continued to submit similar applications, and the amount of payments increased, sometimes exceeding 3,000 hryvnias per month.

In total, the scheme operated for about a year and a half, from the summer of 2022 to early 2024. During this time, she repeated her fraudulent actions several times, issuing compensation for three or four IDPs who did not actually live there. Part of the payments were financed from the state budget, the other part was financed by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.

During the trial, the accused fully admitted her guilt, confirmed the circumstances of the case and expressed remorse. She also fully compensated for the damage before the verdict. The victim did not insist on her participation in the hearing and confirmed that she had no claims.

The court took into account that the woman had not been prosecuted before, had a job, was positively characterized and cooperated with the investigation. The mitigating circumstances were her sincere repentance and voluntary compensation for the damage.

As a result, she was found guilty of fraud, including repeated fraud. She was sentenced to two years of restricted liberty, but released from serving her sentence with a probationary period of one year.

During this period, she has to report regularly to the probation office and notify them of any changes in her place of residence or employment. She was also charged with more than 6 thousand hryvnias for the cost of conducting examinations.

Also in April, a scheme to misappropriate bank funds was uncovered in Odesa, which, according to the investigation, involved an employee of Oschadbank. Using her official access to the accounts of clients from the temporarily occupied territories, she and her accomplices withdrew money and transferred it to controlled accounts.

Анна Бальчінос