In Kalush, a man decided to cash in on caring Ukrainians and cheated them out of a large sum of money. However, he could not enjoy them for a long time, because already on September 23, law enforcement officers took him into custody.
Thus, “volunteer” Vitaliy Khemich managed to receive more than 1 million hryvnias of charitable contributions to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For deceit, the men were taken into custody with the possibility of bail.
What is known about the pseudo-volunteer
The suspect from May to August 2022 collected funds through a social network to assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine and persons in need of assistance in connection with Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. To do this, he pretended to be a volunteer.
Allegedly collecting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he asked to send donations to personal bank accounts. There are many who are not indifferent in Ukraine, so he managed to collect 1 million 171 thousand hryvnias. He decided to spend all these funds on himself. More specifically, gambling. As it turned out, the fraudster has been suffering from gambling addiction for several years already.
When the fraud became known, Vitaly Khemich recorded a video message on his Instagram page. He asks for forgiveness from everyone who turned over money to him, and admitted that he has been suffering from gambling addiction for about 6 years.
“Volunteer” was taken into custody
However, he could not manage with some apologies. For the illegal use of charitable donations during martial law, a man was detained on September 19, and convicted on September 23.
The Kalush court agreed with the prosecutor's request and chose a measure of restraint for Vitaly Khemich in the form of detention. However, a man can make a deposit of UAH 198,480.
Please note! Illegal use of charitable donations can be punished by a fine of 2,000 to 3,000 tax-free minimum incomes, correctional labor for up to 2 years, or restraint of liberty for up to 4 years.
Detention of pseudo-volunteers in Ukraine
- Unfortunately, cases of profiting from charity are not isolated. So, in the Ternopil region, scammers were detained who bought two cars for themselves worth 2 million hryvnias and other valuables with donated money.
- The fake charitable aid fund also operated in the Sumy region. It was organized by a 37-year-old deputy of one of the city councils. About 6,000 people managed to deceive, donating more than 9 million hryvnias.
- However, there are crooks who do not take funds for charity, but accept humanitarian aid for sale. Thus, the SBU managed to expose the criminals who organized a scheme from abroad to sell “humanitarian aid” for 60 million hryvnias.
