The key facts
- 10 convicted received from 6 to 15 years in colony, fines from 500 thousand to 4.5 million rubles
- 102 victims, damage exceeding 148 million rubles
- The prosecutor's claims were satisfied for almost 20 million rubles — less than the total damage
Verdict in the car dealership network case
The Kirovsky District Court of Saratov found ten members of an interregional criminal community guilty of defrauding owners of used cars and sentenced them to between six and 15 years in general and strict regime penal colonies. This was reported by Life.ru citing the prosecutor's office. In addition, the convicted were fined from 500 thousand to 4.5 million rubles and given freedom restrictions for up to two years.
How the scheme worked
According to the investigation, the community was organized in December 2023 by a resident of Ryazan previously convicted of fraud: he recruited acquaintances from other regions and created a network of car dealerships offering help with reselling vehicles. Clients were promised a car appraisal, a buyer search, preparation of the car for sale and paperwork; a call center attracted sellers, and the activity outwardly looked like ordinary intermediation. After the cars were sold, the former owners did not receive the money: payments were delayed under various pretexts, and even after the victims went to court, only insignificant sums were transferred to them.
Scale of damage and recoveries
The group's actions affected 102 car owners, and the investigation estimated the damage at more than 148 million rubles. The court granted the prosecutor's claims for damage recovery and moral damages compensation for almost 20 million rubles — an amount that, as the outlet notes, does not equal the total established damage. The ten defendants, aged 23 to 36, were found guilty of organizing a criminal community, participating in it and fraud on an especially large scale — depending on each person's role.
Context
Life.ru also recalls a similar case in Voronezh: a former car dealership directorwho stole 130 million rubles received six years in a general regime colony, a fine of one million rubles and a one-year restriction of freedom; 90 buyers who paid for cars but never received them were recognized as victims.
