Russia: two women who planned a scheme around 'healing services', one introducing herself to an elderly woman as a famous psychic, took 720,000 roubles — both sentences suspended

Proceedings

1. 2019-04-21 · conviction and sentence at first instance

   Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Samara, Samara Oblast, Russia (Железнодорожный районный суд г. Самары). Two defendants were convicted of fraud by deception committed by a group by prior conspiracy on a large scale. Each was sentenced to one year six months under part 2 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and two years under part 3, aggregated under part 3 of article 69, and each aggregate sentence was suspended under article 73 with a two-year probation period. The court found that the two 'decided together, for mercenary purposes, to take possession of the property of others' and that 'for this they planned their actions in advance, distributed roles within the criminal group and settled the method of committing the offence — the theft of citizens' money by fraudulent means under the guise of providing healing services'. Acting on that plan, one of them approached an elderly woman in the street and 'introduced herself as Elena Ivanovna, a famous psychic', then walked with her into a courtyard. Sums recorded in the judgment include 720,000 roubles and 200,000 roubles.

Documented coercion mechanisms

• a plan agreed in advance, with roles distributed and the method settled as the theft of money under the guise of providing healing services
• an approach in the street to an elderly woman
• an introduction as a famous psychic
• removal of the victim into a courtyard away from the street