FILING A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

This information is intended only for victims who actually sent money to the scammers.  

If you did not send any money to the scammer, you cannot file a complaint.

A raid on the scammers' office in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia

EVERYONE who lost money due to Russian dating scams should consider filing a criminal complaint with Russian or Ukrainian authorities. 

It is not a difficult or complicated process, and although it may or may not return you YOUR money, it may not only save who knows how many other unsuspecting folks from sending even more money, but it is also a document that has a potential to bring the scammers, handcuffed, to a police station to answer some tough questions.

It does not matter whether you file complaints with FBI, the Embassy, Western Union, your bank, or your local police. None of those agencies and organizations have any legal power to prosecute cases in Russia. All they can do it to forward the complaints to Moscow authorities, where it will likely be lost forever. 

Unless Russian police receive an official legal complaint from someone who lost money due to a scam, police can't and won't lift a finger, and the scammers will continue on with their business. 

• The process of filing the complaint

• What will happen after that?

• Is it worth the trouble?

• Improving your chances...

• How do I start?

THE PROCESS OF FILING A COMPLAINT

Filing a criminal complaint involves: 

• writing and notarizing a complaint

• attaching all the supporting evidence of the scam

• providing a copy of your ID

• obtaining a Russian translation of your complaint

• mailing the package of documents to the proper Russian authorities

When your complaint reaches Russian authorities, it will be looked at by a police officer. That officer will have to determine whether or not: 

• the complaint can be used as a legal document (that's why you need to notarize it and attach a copy of your ID)

• there is evidence that a crime that has been committed

• there is enough supporting evidence that would justify starting a criminal case

If all the above things are present in the complaint, police will likely register the complaint and start a criminal investigation.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER THAT?

Having a case opened does not automatically means that the scammers will be led away in handcuffs right away (as some people would like to see). But it is the most important step toward that goal.

After the case is opened, police will try to locate the person whose name was used to receive the money. They will contact Western Union/MoneyGram or the bank, and try to obtain their records. Once that is done, they will contact the person who received the money (according to the records) and interview her or him, and the process will begin. 

Whether or not police will get lucky and find enough information to secure an arrest warrant is something that is sometimes beyond their control. Some cases unfold very quickly (if the crooks were not very good at covering their tracks). Some cases take months and years. But the main thing is, the scammers are usually aware of the ongoing investigation, and that causes them a great deal of worry. As long at the case against them is open, they will toss and turn at night, waiting for that terrible day when  their door will bust open and a few friendly SWAT team officers will ask them to lay on the floor face down.

IS IT WORTH THE TROUBLE?

Opening a criminal case against the scammers will result in several things:

• scammers' operation will sooner or later be interrupted, either briefly or (hopefully) permanently. To avoid meeting with police, they may have to hide: stop showing up at school, stop living with their families, and stop living the high lifestyle that they have enjoyed so far

• police will start untangle the evidence concerning their group activities, and it usually leads to discoveries of other, unreported crimes. The more participants of the group police locates, the more scammers become affected by your complaint. A single complaint can bring enormous amount of grief to 5, 10, 20 group participants who will curse the day their group ever crossed your path.

• even if police cannot secure arrest warrants for your particular case, they will keep watching the group,  and as soon as someone else files a complaint against the same scammer group, guess what, the scammer's are in for the next round of troubles. Eventually, not matter how weak the case against them is, they may just decide that this business is not as rewarding as it used to be, and maybe look for another way to make money

But none of that will happen UNLESS SOMEONE ACTUALLY  FILES A COMPLAINT.

WILL THEY BE ACTUALLY SENT TO PRISON?

Several groups of scammers have been caught.

But realistically speaking, you have about 20-30% of hearing the good news about your scammer receiving a jail term. It doesn't sound like much, but the hassle and expense that you will cause by merely opening the case are pretty much guaranteed.

There are several reasons for such the pathetic number of current prosecutions:

• It is a relatively new area of crime investigations for many police departments, and police officers are learning about these scams as they go

• In some cases, there is just not enough evidence to go by

• If your case is the only complaint against hat particular group, police may not feel too urgent about it

• The scammers may skip the town once they realize that they are being investigated

• The scammer may decide to pay you back the money in order to get you to withdraw your complaint

• The scammers may decide to bribe police officers. Occasionally, it works, but if I was a scammer, I wouldn't count on it

• The charges may not hold up in court if the judge is not too familiar with this type of crime

• The scammers may receive probation, fines, or just public works assignment as their sentences

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING THE SCAMMERS SENT TO PRISON?

• make sure your complaint is well-written and your provide all the supporting evidence you can manage to get

• find other victims of the same scammer or the same group, and convince them to file complaints

• convince EVERYONE who you know lost money due to these scammers file complaints. With a large number of complaints to be handled, the local police will be more likely to create a special investigative unit just to deal with the Internet crimes.

• enlist my assistance with the prosecution process

• help me to create me more media coverage of this growing problem. Police hate it when the press gives them a hard time

HOW DO I START?