Brother
Professional
- Messages
- 2,590
- Reaction score
- 539
- Points
- 113
According to the investigation, a 63-year-old resident of Zhodino met a foreigner, Michael Stephen, on a social network at the end of August 2021. The woman liked the virtual acquaintance, and for convenience, both decided to continue communicating via messenger. Correspondence became more accessible and more personal: stories about themselves, about life, common interests and hobbies - sincere conversations lasted for hours every day. Two months later, the foreigner informed the pensioner that he was breaking the contract with the company for which he worked and he needed to pay a penalty. However, he does not have the required amount. The woman agreed to help the virtual gentleman and transferred 3 thousand US dollars to the account he specified. And after another two weeks - 4 thousand Belarusian rubles. The man promised that he would come to Zhodino and definitely marry her. The woman willingly believed the promises, and video calls in which he talked about his feelings and a happy family future only inspired confidence that the foreign groom would fulfill his promises.
On the way to Belarus, a series of misfortunes began to happen to the man: either he got into an accident in the Baltics, and he needed money for treatment, then on the bus on the way “to his beloved,” he was planted with drugs and needed a tidy sum to pay off the police. The woman unconditionally believed the foreigner and endlessly transferred money. When her personal savings ran out, the pensioner began taking out loans and continued to sponsor her future groom monthly for $200-500 from her salary. But years passed, and he still did not come.
In January, the woman finally decided to contact law enforcement agencies - her relatives managed to convince the pensioner that this was not a foreign boyfriend, but a common Internet scammer who was profiting from her feelings. The victim lost over 10 thousand dollars, leaving without savings and loans.
The Zhodino city department of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on this fact under Part 4 of Art. 209 (fraud committed on an especially large scale) of the Criminal Code of Belarus. Currently, investigative actions are being carried out to establish the identity of the attacker.
On the way to Belarus, a series of misfortunes began to happen to the man: either he got into an accident in the Baltics, and he needed money for treatment, then on the bus on the way “to his beloved,” he was planted with drugs and needed a tidy sum to pay off the police. The woman unconditionally believed the foreigner and endlessly transferred money. When her personal savings ran out, the pensioner began taking out loans and continued to sponsor her future groom monthly for $200-500 from her salary. But years passed, and he still did not come.
In January, the woman finally decided to contact law enforcement agencies - her relatives managed to convince the pensioner that this was not a foreign boyfriend, but a common Internet scammer who was profiting from her feelings. The victim lost over 10 thousand dollars, leaving without savings and loans.
The Zhodino city department of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on this fact under Part 4 of Art. 209 (fraud committed on an especially large scale) of the Criminal Code of Belarus. Currently, investigative actions are being carried out to establish the identity of the attacker.
