Odesa sends case of fraudster posing as mayor to court

The police have sent to court the case of a man imprisoned for a drug crime who is suspected of fraud in the amount of more than 131 thousand hryvnias.

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

Law enforcement officers found that on a popular website the suspect had found ads for the sale of houses in Sumy, Kyiv and Kirovohrad regions. Having called the latter, the offender introduced himself as the mayor of the city and the head of the village council, whose personal data he learned from open sources. The offender offered a real estate appraisal service and informed about the need to pay land tax. The misguided people transferred a total of UAH 25 thousand in taxes to the account he provided.

The offender, according to investigators, also posted fake ads on the Internet for the sale of a car, motorbikes and firewood, using photos from the Internet. Communicating with interested people, he assured them of the availability of goods and promised delivery on condition of full prepayment. The seller had to deliver the vehicle and firewood to the customers' yards, and send the motoblocks by mail to the freight department. Taking advantage of the gullibility of residents of Odesa, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Volyn and Ternopil regions, the prisoner enriched himself at their expense in the amount of over UAH 95 thousand.

During the investigation, police found that a 45-year-old detainee of a pre-trial detention center, who was sentenced to six years in prison for a drug crime in 2021, was involved in the crimes. The man has several previous convictions for theft. In addition, an indictment for illegal transactions with drugs and potent medicines is being considered in one of the courts in Odesa.

Кирило Бойко