A comrade of a missing soldier tricked his wife out of over a million hryvnias; a court in Kryvyi Rih has delivered a verdict against the perpetrator.

This became known from the court ruling dated January 27.

The military's disappearance was brought to the attention of his wife in August 2023. A family friend, who is also a serviceman, assisted her in processing her husband's salary payments in her name. Later, he decided to take advantage of the situation by fabricating information that the missing comrade was in enemy captivity. Subsequently, the fraudster claimed to have a "contact" in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and that he could help "ransom" the missing person from the fictitious captivity.

From October 2023 to March 2024, the perpetrator extorted money from the woman, continuously increasing the required amount. The victim became suspicious of the fraud and reported it to the SBU.

In court, the accused did not deny anything. He admitted that his criminal actions were driven by addictions to drugs and gambling.

The court decided to sentence the defendant to 6 years in prison with the confiscation of property. He was found guilty of both fraud and usurpation of power, as he requested money from her using the account of a non-existent SBU employee. He is also required to compensate the victim for over one million hryvnias in material damages and 100 thousand hryvnias in moral compensation.