|
| |
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. Although it may or may not return you YOUR money,
but it is the only thing that has a potential to stop the scammers from doing
the same thing to others just like you..
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 A COMPLAINT
Filing a criminal complaint
involves:
-
writing and notarizing a
complaint
-
collecting all the supporting
evidence of the scam
-
providing a copy of your ID
-
obtaining a Russian translation
of your complaint (it is also preferable to translate at least a few of the letters that
the scammers sent to you)
-
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% chance 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 to
the scammers by
merely opening the case against them 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?
|
