In St. Petersburg, members of a criminal community, accused of swindling in the area of provision medical services to citizens, to stand trial


The St. Petersburg Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia finished investigation of a probe into 13 members of the criminal community. Depending on the role of each, they are accused of committing offenses under Part 3 of Article 30, Part 4 of Article 159 (attempted swindling), Part 4 of Article 159 (swindling), Parts 1, 2 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of Russia (organization of a criminal community (criminal organization) or participation in it).

According to investigation, from 2015 to 2019 the accused and other accomplices during a long time, under single leadership, pursuing a goal of illegal enrichment, created in the northern capital a number of organizations under guise of medical institutions, including AngelMed Centre (AngelMed-Lesnaya LLC), Royal Clinic Centre (Center Kosmetiki LLC) and Verba Centre (Verba LLC). In order to attract potential victims, the participants of the criminal groups had placed advertisements of the indicated centers in mass media and on the Internet and created a special call-center.

To implement their criminal intents, the organizers and participants of the criminal groups had developed a general plan of committing offences against an unidentified range of persons, mostly including senior people, that consisted of deception and misleading the latter into thinking of having various illnesses, including serious ones that could lead to grave consequences up to the death. Consequently, they had persuaded the citizens in the necessity of urgent expensive medical treatment. In case of inability to pay for the treatment, potential victims had been forced to sign credit contracts with banks.

The victims believed the workers of the indicated centers to be professional medical specialists with the relevant education and experience in medical care and treatment of serious diseases. People were persuaded that refusal from immediate medical treatment in the indicated medical centers would negatively affect their health and future lifestyle; as a result, they had agreed to sign credit contracts. The money under the contracts were transfered to accounts controlled by the organizers and participants of the criminal groups and spent by the indicated persons.

The investigation established 12 episodes of swindling committed by the participants of this criminal group, as a result of which the perpetrators obtained over 1.5 million rubles from the deceived citizens.

The investigation of the probe was supervised by the Central Office of the Investigative Committee.

The investigation gathered enough evidence; therefore, the indictment has been approved, and in the nearest time the probe will be sent to court to be tried on the merits.

A probe into other accomplices of the accused is to be processed separately. A set of investigative actions and search activities aimed to detain them and bring them to justice is being carried out.

31 July 2021 11:29

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