Journalist Impersonator Steals 2.7 Million Dram under Pretense of Transferring Money to a Soldier

The preliminary investigation conducted by the Syunik regional investigative department of the RA Investigative Committee has uncovered several details regarding fraud and legalization of property acquired through criminal means.

According to the factual data obtained during the investigation, a 30-year-old man, in collusion with a group of individuals, committed fraud by contacting more than 30 citizens living in various regions from 2020 to 2021 using different phone numbers. He posed as a journalist and claimed that he was transferring money to a soldier in a military unit, assuring the victims that he would return the funds, thus gaining their trust and confidence. As a result, he embezzled a substantial amount of 2,710,000 AMD, which he then transferred to accounts of other companies to conceal the criminal origin and movement of the stolen money.

Additionally, the 30-year-old man found an advertisement on the “List.am” website posted by a resident of Shirak province regarding the sale of agricultural equipment. He arranged to examine the goods with the owner and then, on June 26, 2020, went to the village of Marmashen in Shirak province. Under the pretext of paying the money in parts, he fraudulently embezzled property valued at a total of 1,700,000 AMD, which he sold for 1,000,000 AMD to another person on the same day.

Based on the adequate evidence obtained, a decision has been made to charge the 30-year-old man under points 1 and 2 of part 2 of Article 178, part 2 of Article 190, and part 2 of Article 178 of the RA Criminal Code. He has been detained, and the investigative body has been instructed to execute the arrest.

Measures are being taken to identify all the individuals affected by the actions of the criminal group, to restore the victims’ damages, and to discover other individuals connected to the alleged crimes. The preliminary investigation continues.