The state of the effect: fraudsters who deceived Larisa Dolina were sentenced

Four defendants in the case of a scam involving the apartment of singer Larisa Dolina were sentenced to imprisonment for terms from four to seven years. In 2024, the convicts stole over 175 million rubles from the singer, including money from the sale of her apartment in Moscow, which the malefactors also encouraged the artist to do. After the lawsuits about the return of Larisa Dolina's apartment rights, she was hit by a wave of criticism, including from her colleagues on the shop floor. Situations where courts return apartments to victims of fraud, and buyers are left with nothing, are now called the "Valley effect." This has stirred up the real estate market, and people have become afraid to sell their homes, especially on the secondary market, experts say.

Who robbed the People's Artist

On November 28, 2025, the Balashikha Court of the Moscow Region found four defendants in the criminal case involving the apartment of singer Larisa Dolina guilty of fraud on an especially large scale. They were sentenced to four to seven years in prison.

Larisa Dolina became a victim of fraud in August 2024. As stated in the case file, the attackers convinced the singer that fraudulent actions were allegedly being committed with her real estate, and her savings were at risk. To save these funds, all assets must be transferred to a "secure account". As a result, Larisa Dolina handed over 175 million rubles to the attackers, including 112 million rubles after the sale of an apartment in the center of Moscow.

After the sale of the apartment, one of the scammers wrote to her on social networks that a regional representative of Rosfinmonitoring would come to her, who would tell her the code word "mom". The singer was also sent a passport photo of the person who was supposed to arrive. It turned out to be the head of a branch of one of the capital's libraries, Angela Tsyrulnikova. She showed the passport to the singer and gave her the code word. Larisa Dolina handed her a bag with 70 million rubles. Five days later, the scheme was repeated, the courier said "star" — and the singer handed her the remaining 36 million rubles.

Later, the scammers wrote to the actress again and informed her that the scammers had issued a loan of 50 million rubles secured by her country house. And in order to save the house, it is necessary to "cover" them with a loan, they explained. Dolina applied to various banks for loans, but was refused. The singer, according to the case file, realized that she was being "bred" by scammers only after their request to sell her country house. After that, she went to the police.

Dmitry Leontiev, a resident of Yoshkar-Ola, was detained by security forces on October 22, 2024. According to investigators, a previously convicted man was one of the drops — 3 million of the 180 million rubles that the singer gave to the scammers went through his bank card. Leontiev kept 30 thousand rubles for his mediation services, and transferred the rest to the members of the criminal group.

In addition, according to law enforcement agencies, he purchased communications equipment and SIM cards from mobile operators for communication between members of an organized group. Leontiev's last criminal record was for theft, and he was released in 2022.

The third person involved, Andrei Basnova, was detained in December 2024 in Tolyatti. The man also acted as a dropper — he sold his bank card to fraudsters through Telegram. According to his mother, Elena Denisova, when the events took place, her son had just returned from the army and got a job. In Telegram, she said, some people promised him a reward, he agreed and sold his card.

On November 21, 2024, the fourth person involved was detained, Artur Kamenetsky, a previously convicted resident of Tatarstan. According to the investigation, a bank card was found in the man's possession, to which Larisa Dolina, under the influence of scammers, transferred 10 million rubles.

On Friday, November 28, Angela Tsyrulnikova was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 1 million rubles. She was convicted of three more similar episodes against two retired deaf—mute Galina Kukushkina, as well as Valentina Shulik.

The court also sentenced Kamenetsky and Leontiev to seven years in a penal colony with a fine of 900 thousand rubles, and Andrei Osnovy to four years with a fine of 900 thousand rubles. In addition, the court recovered more than 12 million rubles from the defendants. At the same time, Larisa Dolina's claims for 175 million rubles — the singer demanded this amount from the defendants in the case — were not considered by the court, explaining to her the right to file a claim in civil proceedings.

Osnovy's lawyer Asim Alyev told Izvestia that the defendants plan to appeal the decision to the Moscow Regional Court.

How did the process go?

The first hearing on the criminal case was held on November 10, 2025. The trial was held behind closed doors due to threats against the singer and her lawyer. On November 19, Larisa Dolina testified as a victim via video link from the Khamovnichesky Court building in Moscow.

Three convicts pleaded not guilty. Artur Kamenetsky pleaded guilty only partially to cashing out funds.

Several sessions for four defendants are really fast, but not impossible, said Anton Pivovarov, a lawyer at the Moscow Sed Lex Bar Association.

"It all depends on the consistency of the parties' positions and the degree of complexity of the evidence base," he added.

The expert said that courts, as a rule, assess such cases as socially dangerous, because we are talking about real estate of citizens and large sums. The fact that the court imposed a lower penalty than the prosecutor requested suggests that mitigating circumstances and the distribution of roles in the fraudulent scheme were taken into account.

Albert Khaleyan, a criminal defense lawyer and partner at the Vector Prime Moscow Bar Association, considers the sentence imposed on the defendants to be quite lenient. The state prosecution requested a prison sentence of six years to 9.5 years.

Why is the singer being criticized on social media?

In March, the Khamovnichesky district court granted the singer's claim for invalidation of the contract of sale of her apartment. The court rejected the counterclaim of the apartment buyer Polina Lurie for the singer's eviction. The appellate and cassation instances supported this decision.

The court of first instance, satisfying the singer's claim, indicated that she had "no intention and will to alienate the apartment, she acted under the influence of outsiders who convinced her that she was cooperating with law enforcement agencies and was participating in an 'operation' to identify and detain criminals." And Polina Lurie is "not deprived of the opportunity to demand" that the fraud defendants reimburse her for the losses.

After the Court of Cassation confirmed Larisa Dolina's right to an apartment on November 27, 2025, the singer was criticized. On social media, subscribers demand to "cancel the star" and not go to her concerts until the singer "returns the money to the buyer."

— She returned the apartment she sold and is singing with joy! No shame, no conscience," one of the users was indignant the day before

Some of the artist's colleagues also expressed their indignation. Singer Slava (real name Anastasia Slanevskaya) said that she could not sell the apartment because of the high-profile case with Larisa Dolina, after which the checks on real estate transactions were tightened.

— Because of one of my "favorite" singers, Larisa Alexandrovna Dolina, I can't sell any of my apartments right now.… Now, because of this whole situation, I need to go through all the drug treatment clinics, I don't know where or why. And if the buyer finds out that I'm an artist, it means I can divorce someone. Thank you very much," she said on her personal blog.

TV presenter and lawyer Ekaterina Gordon called the situation with Larisa Dolina's apartment a "bad precedent" and a blow to the singer's reputation.

— Larisa must remain a fair person. And if the girl who bought the apartment from her is not a fraud, she should get her apartment because she gave the money. Everything else is an attempt to use authority," she said at the All Colors of Jazz Award.

The negative reaction on the Web to Larisa Dolina's story can be considered as a manifestation of psychological protection aimed at coping with high levels of tension and one's own fear of losing money, Ekaterina Bashmakova, a clinical psychologist and Alter service specialist, told Izvestia.

—High information uncertainty and growing vulnerability in the field of financial security lead to increased tension in society," the expert explained. — One of the obvious ways to deal with such tension is to find the "culprit." And the brighter and more specific it is, the easier it is to vent negative reactions.

Will the "Valley effect" become a precedent?

The situation when the courts, recognizing the transaction as invalid, return the apartment to the former owner without simultaneously returning the money paid to the buyer, has now become known as the "Valley effect," said lawyer Anton Pivovarov.

— The buyer finds himself in a position where he loses both the apartment and the money, and he has to collect the money separately — often from unscrupulous persons, and it is extremely difficult to do this, — said the lawyer.

The "Valley Effect" has divided the entire legal community into two camps — some consider the decision to leave ownership to the singer legitimate, while others disagree, said lawyer Albert Haleyan.

— He has stirred up the entire real estate market, people are afraid to sell their homes, especially on the "secondary market". It looks like mass hysteria. Doubts arise even where there is no reason for this, people want to be safe: they additionally collect certificates and conclusions. A huge number of so—called experts have appeared who profit from this topic," the lawyer believes.

The case of Larisa Dolina's apartment scam has become a precedent, after which the courts began to side massively with former homeowners, said Veronika Polyakova, a criminal defense lawyer and managing partner of Business Legal Group.

However, according to lawyer Albert Khaleyan, there is another cassation practice that makes opposing decisions in similar cases.

— It is necessary for the Supreme Court to give its interpretation and provide guidance on how lower courts should deal with such situations. There is no uniform interpretation yet. There are general rules, they can be interpreted both in one direction and in the other," the expert noted.

The case of Larisa Dolina's apartment will not become a full-fledged judicial landmark, however, the verification of the integrity of the participants in the transactions and the history of the transfer of ownership rights is likely to be tightened, lawyer Anton Pivovarov believes.

At the end of November 2025, the State Duma developed a number of measures to combat transactions under the "Valley scheme," according to an appeal addressed to the Chairman of the Supreme Court, Igor Krasnov. According to the deputies, they regularly receive appeals from citizens who are faced with the fact that after the sale of an apartment, elderly people or their relatives are trying to invalidate the deal.

In such cases, the courts often side with the plaintiffs, but at the same time refuse to reimburse the buyers of real estate. We are talking about more than 3 thousand cancelled purchase and sale transactions involving pensioners, the document says.

Among the main measures to combat the "Valley effect", the deputies proposed to introduce mandatory notarization of all transactions and their insurance if the housing being sold is the only one for the seller or buyer. And the Federal Notary Chamber previously proposed to consolidate the principle of irrevocability of entries in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRN).