A group that defrauded relatives of military personnel was exposed in the Dnipropetrovsk region – photos

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, police have uncovered an organized group whose members defrauded relatives of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who went missing or were captured. The total amount of losses amounted to almost 3 million hryvnias. The Prosecutor General's Office reports this.

As investigators from the Kamiansky District Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Dnipropetrovsk region established, the group members were monitoring social media ads about the search for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who had gone missing or been captured.

Later, members of the group contacted the relatives of the soldiers via messengers and offered them "help" in returning them from captivity or providing them with treatment.

For their services, they demanded monetary compensation, which the victims transferred to bank cards.

So far, 14 victims from different regions of Ukraine have been identified. The total amount of damage caused is almost 3 million UAH.

Three people were found to be involved in the fraudulent scheme. During the searches, law enforcement officers seized mobile phones, documents, money, and bank cards from them.

All members of the organized group were notified of suspicion of committing fraud on a particularly large scale in a prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The sanction of the article provides for a penalty of imprisonment for a term of five to twelve years with confiscation of property.

The suspects' involvement in another 12 episodes of illegal activity with total losses of almost UAH 5 million is also being investigated.

All suspects were given preventive measures.

• On November 14, 2024, the Coordination Headquarters reported that fraudsters are creating new schemes to extort money from the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing persons.
• On January 19, 2025, it was reported that the National Police exposed three people who posed as military personnel and embezzled UAH 2.5 million in donations for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• On April 10, it was reported that in the Odessa region, law enforcement officers exposed three people who, according to investigators, were extorting money from a 71-year-old pensioner by posing as her son, who had gone missing in the war.