Embezzled 12 million hryvnias in aid for sick children – group of fraudsters charged with new crimes
Kyiv • UNN
Pseudo-volunteers stole 12 million hryvnias in aid intended for sick children. The organizer and her accomplices face up to twelve years in prison.
Law enforcement officers have charged the founder and members of a fraudulent organization that preyed on seriously ill children with new crimes. The group's criminal activities were halted in 2024, UNN reports, citing the National Police of Ukraine.
Details
According to the investigation, criminal call centers operated in Zhytomyr, where operators posed as volunteers and collected funds for families with seriously ill children, orphanages, or low-income families with children.
The criminals used real stories of those in need of help to gain the trust of their victims.
The mother of two children with disabilities turned to their "charitable foundation" to raise money for their rehabilitation. People transferred over 400,000 hryvnias to the family's account, but the perpetrators gave the mother only 20,000, misappropriating the rest. In total, the "benefactors" swindled over 12,000,000 hryvnias from donors and laundered them through shell companies providing legal and consulting services and selling construction materials,
The suspects were identified as a 41-year-old resident of Kyiv—the organizer of the criminal scheme—and her 5 accomplices.
Motions to take the suspects into custody have been filed with the court. They face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.