A 22-year-old resident of Rivne took out loans in banks without the knowledge of the victims – mostly women and girls he met in one of the Telegram channels. The fraudster's victims included 31 people.
The criminal police officers exposed the perpetrator together with investigators from Police Department No. 1 of Lviv District Police Department No. 1, under the procedural guidance of the Galician District Prosecutor's Office.
As law enforcement officers established, the accused hid his victims in one of the Telegram channels created for dating. He gained trust and offered new acquaintances additional income, after which he gained access to their bank accounts and personal data, and then – without their knowledge – issued loans for them in banks. He transferred the funds received in this way to accounts under his control and appropriated them.
In this way, the perpetrator defrauded at least 31 people – mostly women and girls, taking possession of funds totaling about 300 thousand hryvnias. The victims did not even suspect that loans had been issued in their names until several of them were contacted by bank representatives demanding that they return the money. Realizing that they had become victims of fraud, they turned to the police for help.
The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings has been completed. The indictment has been sent to the court for consideration. The sanction of the article provides for a penalty of imprisonment for a term of three to eight years.