Calculations in a dream: accused of deceiving cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin pleaded guilty

The defendant in the criminal case of fraud against cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Yan Maksimov, entered into a pre-trial agreement with the investigation and pleaded guilty. In 2023, the criminals forced Tyurin to transfer the funds he had accumulated to a supposedly secure account, then take out two loans, and transfer this money to them, too. The case of the Hero of Russia is a fairly standard one: attackers use methods of so—called social engineering, manipulating the victim and forcing her to fully trust them. Izvestia had at its disposal a recording of the negotiations of such scammers with each other. What schemes they use, and how the investigation calculated the defendants in the Mikhail Tyurin case, is in the Izvestia article.

How cosmonaut Tyurin was deceived

Yan Maksimov, a defendant in the criminal case of fraud against cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, pleaded guilty and entered into a pre-trial agreement. This was announced during a court hearing in the Pushkin City Court of the Moscow region, which took place on June 10. In the fraudulent scheme, Maximov was responsible for recruiting drops and opening bank accounts through which the stolen money was subsequently withdrawn. The court postponed the announcement of the verdict against him to a later day.

In December 2023, Mikhail Tyurin received a message, allegedly from a former colleague, asking him to contact the head of Roscosmos. It said that the head of the department could not reach him in any way. Opening the call history, Mikhail Tyurin saw that he had indeed received a call from a certain subscriber, whose avatar had a photo corresponding to the "legend". The former cosmonaut believed it, contacted the scammers, who informed him that the Roscosmos servers had been hacked, and personal data had leaked.

Mikhail Tyurin was then asked to contact "employees of the Central Bank and law enforcement agencies." An audio recording was also sent to him in private messages, which allegedly showed the voice of intruders who were going to withdraw all the money from his accounts and take the property. This finally convinced the victim that fraudulent actions were taking place against him.

After that, Tyurin received several more messages from significantly suspicious users, after which he began to "cooperate" with fraudsters posing as representatives of the Central Bank: according to their tips, he withdrew his savings from banks, explaining there that he intended to buy a car.

Next, he transferred funds to accounts linked to third-party SIM cards. So Mikhail Tyurin transferred about 4 million rubles to the account of the scammers. Then they forced him to take out several loans worth about 6 million rubles, cash them out and transfer them to their accounts.

After that, Mikhail Tyurin's bank cards were blocked due to suspicious transactions. The scammers, disguised as civil servants, promised to look into the situation, but later they did not answer the calls.

The case of Yan Maksimov, after he pleaded guilty and entered into a pre-trial agreement, was separated into a separate proceeding, said Ekaterina Korotkova, head of the Department for Interaction with the media at the Moscow Region Prosecutor's Office.

How fraud groups are organized from the inside

Izvestia has at its disposal a recording of an intercepted conversation between unknown scammers, which they conduct with each other on the phone. It does not relate to the case of Mikhail Tyurin, but it shows how the attackers work.

In style, the conversation resembles an ordinary office meeting: a subordinate addresses his supervisor as "you", respectfully calls him "Nikolaich" and reports on the work done. "Nikolaich" calls the young "employee" "Kolya," reproaches him for inaction and sets deadlines for correction.

In the conversation, "Kolya" complains to "Nikolaich" about the blocking of transfers that they are trying to conduct with the finances of the victims. He calls a transaction a "transit" and a lock a "block".

"Nikolaevich, we're in trouble again, the blocks are flying again," Kolya turned to the chief. — According to the latest lists (of potential victims. — Ed.) everything is not very good, nothing is working with most of them. Operations are not going through, and I think this is due to the Central Bank and the "garbage".

— Damn, Kolya, I'm tired of these excuses, I don't need this kind of job, — the boss is angry. — Why do you have some kind of bullshit all the time, why not do everything wisely? You can sit down and think about how to get around these blocks from the Central Bank! You didn't do [anything] for that. Kolya, what do you get money for, explain it to me?

Next, "Kolya" tries to justify himself and says that his "group" does everything exactly the same as "other groups". But the "block" still "arrives" now after each transaction, from which he and his "colleagues" came to the conclusion that "the Central Bank has taken up this tightly."

— Maybe this is a problem of the front companies we are trying to transfer money to? — Kolya is trying to find a way out.

—If you don't piss me off, we're all on top of this, you're thinking in the wrong direction," Nikolaevich doesn't give up. — Think about how to get around these blocks from the Central Bank. You have a week, do you understand me? If you [mess around], I'll fire you.

Next, the scammers call the names of the real victims, from whom they tried to write off personal savings and apply for loans in their name, but the bank did not allow them to do so. During the conversation, Kolya dictates their phone numbers to Nikolaevich.

They also talked about security measures: Nikolaevich told Kolya a story about how the police had recently taken a certain Sanya Kievsky, who worked with his group from home. He asked his interlocutor not to work from home, but to switch to another mode of "remote" work — "from the basement."

He also asks to "warn the boys" to switch to push-button phones and change the numbers every week.

— You need to approach every situation with your head, you need to think! — Nikolaevich instructed the employee. — You need to be careful, delete documents, clean everything and do it regularly, not when I called you.

Scammers also talk about the scheme they use to influence people. It doesn't look new: on behalf of the FSB and other government agencies, potential victims are being intimidated by the fact that their accounts have been attacked by scammers and are being persuaded to transfer money "to secure accounts."

"Let the FSB and the Central Bank get involved, tell them about the fraud, provoke them with questions, and invent stories,— Nikolaevich taught.

It follows from his teachings that during a conversation with a victim on a mobile phone, fraudsters monitor a person's movement in real time using geolocation. They also have — and this also follows from the context — law enforcement officers with whom they interact to put pressure on potential victims.

Police officers lured by scammers can approach the person with whom the scammers are talking on the street and ask to go to the police station.

— Look where they are moving, if [the police] are nearby, connect them, let them be called to the police station to scare them. Just don't... [screw up] with the cameras, don't forget to turn them off. In short, look at the situation, it's not for me to teach you! — warns Nikolaevich.

How the fraudsters were identified in the Mikhail Tyurin case

The criminal community, whose members tricked Mikhail Tyurin into transferring their funds to them, was organized in 2023, Izvestia found out.

To coordinate their actions, the criminals created a separate Telegram chat, which consisted of at least four people, each of whom had his own role in the fraudulent scheme.

Yan Maksimov's tasks included searching for drops — people who would agree to issue bank cards in their name, where the money obtained by criminal means was subsequently transferred. He also provided them with SIM cards, which they indicated in banks when opening bank accounts.

To create an account, which Mikhail Tyurin eventually transferred money to, he attracted two men, promising them a monetary reward. Maximov did not inform them that the bank cards would be used in fraudulent activities.

Later, while in Nizhny Novgorod, the men handed over the bank cards and all the accompanying details to one of the members of the fraudulent group. He, in turn, gave them to Maximov, who posted them in a chat where the scammers were communicating.

The use of SIM cards and accounts opened in someone else's name is not an obstacle to the investigation when fraudsters are caught. It is this kind of digital footprint, although more confusing, that allows law enforcement officers to identify criminals, says lawyer and former law enforcement officer Alexei Malenkov.

— Operational staff have extensive mechanisms for collecting information. Based on the written statement, all cash transactions are verified. Account holders are identified, and it tracks who used the mobile phone they are linked to and how. It's a long job, but as a rule it brings results, especially if the criminals are in Russia or involve people living there," he said.

How are they being deceived by scammers

Mikhail Tyurin is not the only person with a high rank and regalia who has fallen for the tricks of scammers. In 2024, Lev Klebanov, a lawyer and senior researcher at the Criminal law and Criminology branch of the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, author of a scientific paper on crimes against commercial, tax and bank secrecy, became a victim of fraud and lost more than 6.6 million rubles.

He received a voice message from a former colleague from the university. The report said that the professor was allegedly looking for the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Science. Later, the conman called him back, introducing himself as a high-ranking official. Later, he also transferred his money to other people's accounts.

In the same year, Viktor Finn, Doctor of Technical Sciences and professor of the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the Russian State University of Economics, believed a fraudster who introduced himself as the governor of St. Petersburg and said that funds that had allegedly been stolen from the budget were passing through his account. After that, the professor gave 2.3 million rubles.

Academician Valentin Chanturia and his wife spent more than a week in 2024 transferring money by fraudsters. In total, the family lost 21 million rubles. The family had to borrow part of these funds from relatives. The scientist believed the criminals, who posed as employees of the Moscow City Hall, the Interior Ministry, the FSB and the Central Bank.

First of all, scammers do not affect intelligence, not academic degrees, but the universal weaknesses of the human psyche, says psychologist Anna Negi.

— First of all, scammers intimidate victims: taking fright suppresses any rational thinking. After removing the first barrier, scammers attack with complex terms and schemes — the person is already vulnerable and believes them. Deep knowledge in any of the sciences does not guarantee financial savvy. People with such blind spots are more likely to become victims," says the specialist.

Fraudsters also affect psychological injuries, says psychiatrist and psychotherapist Alan Abgarov. This ground can be one or another dramatic life situation, because of which a person experiences inner vulnerability.

— Fraudsters "divorced" one of my patients to an apartment, and when she came to me for an appointment, I realized that this event was not accidental, but natural, — the doctor told Izvestia. — It turned out that this woman's mother had recently died, she was left alone and felt socially vulnerable. A person in this state feels like a victim, and this is a good target for adventurers.

If a person is already in the role of a victim in his inner state, then the scammer can only start playing a psychodramatic scenario with him according to the roles.

— Scammers know that people have fear, and they try to find it and accumulate it, — said Alan Abgarov. — Therefore, the potential victim is first scared and immediately offered to help. As a result, the scammer actually acts as a stalker and aggressor, but the victim thinks that he is playing the role of a rescuer.

Fraudsters can possess elements of Ericksonian hypnosis and influence a person through his hearing aid, the psychotherapist emphasized. During such an impact, the true "I" of a person, his inner critic, who is able to adequately assess the situation, is suppressed. Without such a "critic," even smart and educated people often start behaving like helpless babies, the expert said.