Rear rats: criminals took away lifting equipment from front-line soldiers
A few weeks ago, it became known about the detention of a group of taxi drivers who robbed employees near Sheremetyevo Airport, but now a new scheme has appeared to deceive contract volunteers. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Embezzlement of lifting equipment and "black widows"
A woman born in 1980 and a man born in 1989 were detained in the Perm Region, who stole 1.5 million rubles from military personnel, as well as tried to seize another 1.1 million rubles. The scam was uncovered by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Perm, together with the regional FSB and the FSB for the Central Military District with the military support of the Rosgvardiya, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said. As the investigation found out, the attackers did not limit themselves to assigning one-time "lifting" payments and involved five women in the scheme, convincing them to enter into fictitious marriages with contract workers. This was done for the "long term" — for the sake of receiving large sums in case of injury or death.
"According to the court's decision, one of the malefactors was taken into custody. His accomplice was given a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions.
The investigation continues, other episodes of criminal activity and other members of the criminal group are being established," the Perm regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia said in a statement.
As Izvestia found out, members of an ethnic group living on Samarqandskaya Street in Perm may be involved in the crime. The huge house featured on the operational records is well known as the residence of fortune tellers. Other cottage regulars involved in the case have criminal records for crimes against property. One of the girls involved in the case changed her last name to "Fartovaya" six years ago. In criminal jargon, it means "lucky."
The scheme in Krasnoyarsk
In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, a few days earlier, police detained a 43-year—old resident of the city of Nazarovo, who for 13 months — from January 2025 to February 2026 - had been cashing out payments to five SVO fighters in his favor, the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia reported. The total amount stolen exceeded 16.3 million rubles. According to the investigation, all the victims lived in the neighboring Sharypovsky district; the oldest of them is 61 years old, the youngest is 46 years old. Before being sent to the war zone, the detainee convinced them to give him the bank cards that were supposed to receive payments. After gaining access to the accounts, he withdrew money, spending it on his own needs.
With part of the stolen funds — 4.2 million rubles — the fraudster purchased an apartment in Sharypov, registering it for his mother. After the arrest of her son, the woman tried to resell the property, but these actions were stopped by police officers, and the apartment was seized. The Krasnoyarsk fraudster also convinced one of the fighters to marry his 47-year-old sister. When the contractor died while performing a combat mission, the "widow" received the medal "For Bravery" as her spouse, which was posthumously awarded to the serviceman.
The story turned out to be under control precisely because of the heroic death of a serviceman. They found out about the feat at home, and the real relatives of the fighter sued the "widow". During a search of the woman's apartment, the police seized a state award. In a solemn ceremony, the medal was handed over to the daughter of the deceased, the legitimate heir. The conman's sister is now being investigated as an accomplice and is on her own recognizance.
As the investigation revealed, contract fraud was not the only activity of the detainee. He also issued loans for the construction of residential buildings on behalf of socially disadvantaged citizens, and then cashed out and appropriated the money received into their accounts. Four people have already been recognized as victims of these episodes, and the amount of damage is being determined.
Currently, nine criminal cases have been initiated against the defendant, combined into one proceeding, under the articles "Theft", "Fraud", "Fraud in the field of lending" and "Money laundering". He is in custody.
You will have to answer point by point
Lawyer Dmitry Subbotin notes that the described criminal episodes in the Perm and Krasnoyarsk territories represent a set of property crimes against members of their own organizations and their families committed by organized groups and using trusting relationships.
"In general, embezzlement of payments, bank funds and credit money using deception or abuse of trust falls under articles on fraud (Articles 159, 159.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and secret theft falls under the article on theft (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). With significant damage, multiple episodes and the participation of a group by prior agreement or an organized group, we are talking about serious crimes with penalties up to 10 years in prison and above," the lawyer explains.
According to lawyer Ekaterina Krasnova, the registration of fictitious marriages for the subsequent receipt of payments for injuries or death, as well as the seizure of the award of a deceased soldier, may form additional structures, depending on which documents and how they were used and appropriated. She emphasizes that in cases of fraud and theft, courts usually take into account the amount of damage, the number of victims, the role of each group member, as well as the vulnerability of victims — in this case, we are talking about military personnel and socially disadvantaged citizens.
"If proven guilty, the defendants, according to a set of articles on theft, fraud, fraud in the field of lending and money laundering, risk receiving real terms of imprisonment," the expert explains.
She also points to episodes involving the legalization of stolen funds, such as the purchase of an apartment in her mother's name and an attempt to resell it.
"The acquisition of property with stolen money followed by an attempt to resell it can be interpreted as the legalization (laundering) of criminal proceeds. Under such articles, courts often impose additional sanctions — heavy fines and confiscation of property," adds Krasnova.
Preventive measures and the status of the defendants
Some of the suspects were taken into custody, while others were given more lenient preventive measures.
"Detention in such cases usually means that the court has agreed with the arguments of the investigation about the risk of pressure on witnesses, destruction of evidence or continuation of criminal activity. A ban on certain actions and a written undertaking are applied where the court considers it possible to ensure attendance and proper behavior without isolation from society," says lawyer Subbotin. He emphasizes that the preventive measures are not a punishment, but reflect a preliminary assessment of the risks during the investigation and trial.
According to Ekaterina Krasnova, in addition to criminal prosecution, victims have the right to demand compensation for damage caused in a criminal case.
"Victims usually have the right to file civil lawsuits for recovery of stolen amounts and compensation for moral damage. The court determines the amount of such claims taking into account the circumstances of the case, the proven amount of theft and the property status of the defendants," she notes.
Risk group
Significant financial losses are incurred by the participants of the SVO (and more often by their family members) due to remote fraudulent activities.
—The attackers are sending fake notifications about recalculating payments to the families of deceased military personnel, requesting passport data, insurance certificates and access codes to banking applications," a law enforcement source said. — Such cases are always under the control of the management. This is a priority, they are always carefully worked out. Participants in such schemes can hardly hope for leniency from the court.
Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Anna Kuznetsova announced more than 5,000 criminal attacks against the families of dead soldiers.
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