Odesa resident conceals mother's death for pension and deferral from mobilization

Police detained an Odesa resident who concealed the death of his mother, a woman with a disability, and withheld her pension for more than a year.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast.

According to the investigation, in June 2024, after the death of his mother, the son deliberately concealed this fact from the state authorities. He did not inform the Department of State Registration of Civil Status Acts and the Pension Fund to stop the accrual of pension payments to the deceased, but continued to use her bank card. In almost a year and a half - from June 2024 to October 2025 - he managed to illegally receive more than UAH 72 thousand in pension payments.

At the same time, the man evaded military service by continuing to regularly submit documents to the district territorial center for recruitment and social support to care for his mother with a disability. On this basis, he was repeatedly extended his deferral from mobilization until November 2025.

Given the sufficient evidence collected by the police, investigators notified the man of suspicion of misappropriation of another's property by deception, as well as of evasion of military service during mobilization.

The day before, police detained a fraudster in Odesa. The man, who had no relation to the territorial center for recruitment and social support, called a woman and introduced himself as a military officer of the TSC and convinced her that her son had been allegedly mobilized.

The only way to release him, the fraudster said, was to immediately transfer money. The man demanded $12,500, constantly emphasizing that this was the only way to resolve the issue and that it had to be done immediately.

Кирило Бойко