Law enforcement officers exposed a scheme to extort money from pensioners under the guise of selling dietary supplements
Law enforcement officers exposed and reported suspicion to 13 participants of a criminal scheme who, in several regions of Ukraine, demanded money from pensioners under the guise of selling biologically active supplements (BADs). About this informs Office of the Prosecutor General.
According to the investigation, residents of Dnipropetrovsk region organized the operation of call centers in several regions, using them for fraudulent schemes aimed at extorting money from elderly people. The criminal group also included minors.
During 2023-2024, the organizers sent parcels to pensioners with dietary supplements that they did not order, passing them off as medicine. After that, the victims were called, introducing themselves as employees of state bodies or doctors, and were forced to pay for the goods at a significantly inflated price.
If the pensioners refused to pay, fraudsters called them under the guise of employees of the state executive service, threatening to open criminal proceedings, impose fines, confiscate property or block the pension card – the only source of income. They also put psychological pressure on the victims, forcing them to transfer money.
The vast majority of victims are elderly people whose health has deteriorated due to severe stress.
During authorized searches in Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions, hundreds of packages of nutritional supplements, more than 300 thousand US dollars, computer equipment, mobile phones, documentation, as well as instructions with algorithms for fraudulent actions were seized. Nine members of the criminal organization were detained in accordance with Art. 208 of the CPC of Ukraine.
