Right to Left: Pseudo-lawyers scammed old people
Izvestia has learned the details of a multi-episode investigation into a group that defrauded elderly Muscovites under the guise of lawyers. The accomplices promised to recalculate pensions, recover previously lost investments and stolen funds, but in fact just took "coffins".
Acting persons
Investigators from the Department of Internal Affairs of the Central Administrative District of Moscow are looking for victims of the actions of employees and beneficiaries of the company "Flagman", against whom a criminal case has been opened under the article on fraud. As investigators believe, the criminal group (the full composition of its participants is determined) emerged back in 2019. It included at least three people - a resident of Balashikha Ulyana E., 39-year-old native of Moldova Vitaly C., and 61-year-old Novosibirsk resident Victor Sh. The accomplices called pensioners who had previously suffered from the actions of fraudsters, and promised to solve their problems in the legal field. Elderly people carried their savings in the hope of achieving justice, but were deprived of the last.
How they persuade
Lyudmila Petrovna (name changed) has been haunted by trouble since 2008, when she saw an advertisement for investments allegedly in pre-Olympic construction. That's how she lost her first 30 thousand rubles. The woman, born in 1938, says that she wrote to the authorities, complained to law enforcers and deputies, but to no avail. From her words, even then she turned to so-called lawyers for the first time to defend her interests.
- It was in 2018, the firm was called "Garant", but they were all jailed then, - told the correspondent of "Izvestia" Lyudmila Petrovna.
After that, the employees of "Flagman" somehow came out on the victim. According to Lyudmila Petrovna, they called her and persuaded her to come to their office, promising to help her get compensation.
Initially, the woman paid 80 thousand rubles. The pseudo-lawyers offered to leave her things and an umbrella with them, so that the woman would definitely return from the bank, where she had gone to get cash. A kind-hearted employee of the bank, where Lyudmila Petrovna withdrew the money, almost talked her out of the adventure, but when she returned for the umbrella, she gave in to the entreaties.
Some time later the old lady was told that she needed another 40 thousand rubles, allegedly to represent her interests in court. Several people gathered to talk to her at once - with a clever look they told her about their strategy during the upcoming process. A few days later it turned out that another 250,000 rubles were needed - right in the office the woman felt ill. The manager promised a discount - the price was reduced to 120 thousand rubles. Almost all the "coffin" money was spent on paying "specialists". After the Muscovite woman gave the money, the "lawyers" stopped contacting me by phone.
- I came to the office, where they told me to sign some kind of statement of claim to the arbitration court. I had to take it to arbitration myself. But in arbitration they told me that the paper was a piece of paper, drawn up incorrectly. They said that I was cheated.
Cheating
The woman began to look for a way out of some crooks with other crooks. The remaining savings went to them. New assistants demanded from the pensioner a large sum in several installments and promised to deal with "Flagman". In the future, the woman gave a total of about 800 thousand rubles to various organizations - almost all that she had saved for funerals and to help her children with housing.
Another victim, 77-year-old Gennady Sergeevich (name changed), turned to "Flagman" to write off a loan. The pensioner paid 200 thousand rubles for the procedure, but the specialists did not fulfill their obligations. Later he applied to two more law firms to sue "Flagman", but only lost money.
He, like Lyudmila Petrovna, filed a police report only when he was contacted by the police, who came on the trail of fraudsters on other episodes of their activities.
"Izvestia" found out that the case involves at least twelve more elderly Muscovites. The amounts of damage range from tens of thousands of rubles to half a million. Most of the deceived old people asked for help in recalculating their pensions.
It is curious that at the address of "Flagman" (26 Zoologicheskaya St., page 2 in Moscow) at different times was registered more than 400 organizations, some of which provided legal services. Many of them existed for a very short time, according to the data of the portal of the Federal Tax Service of Russia.
Recognize deception
Charlatans and pseudo-lawyers most often start a conversation with a "client" with promises of free services, shared his observations lawyer, founder and CEO of the consulting group vvCube Vadim Tkachenko.
- At the first meeting, after confusing explanations and convincing promises, the victim is offered to pay for the urgent conclusion of a contract with vague wording or to conduct the necessary consultation, which does not lead to a specific goal, - says the interlocutor of "Izvestia". - Pseudo-lawyers also often suddenly "discover" a problem that did not really exist.
According to Tkachenko, when applying for legal assistance, it is necessary to look carefully at what kind of contracts they offer to sign and what is stated in them.
- As practice shows, all issues related to money or payments are always associated with great risk," says the lawyer. - Decent lawyers always talk first of all about strategy, about the steps that can be taken in the situation. It is clear that it is not always possible to win the court and solve a legal or worldly issue. All cases are individual and each needs a different approach.
