Tired of living off their small pensions, some of Moscow’s elderly people have found an original – yet illegal – way of making money.
Making use of their age and respectable looks, the pensioners sought out naïve and ambitious state officials and offered help with getting government posts.
The men told the victim that they were extremely influential in Moscow region’s government and could easily promote the official – for a bribe. In such a way, the fraudsters scammed millions of rubles.
Another gang – also comprised of pensioners – was caught offering “help” to foreign investors. The fraudsters promised to find them “the right people” and to provide government support. Eager to make fast money in Russia, the entrepreneurs ended up losing their own savings.
One more group of elderly fraudsters was merely selling governmental and ministerial posts of all kinds – to anyone interested. The pensioners rented an office in central Moscow; their clients were mostly top businessmen.
Ironically, when the fraudsters were caught, it turned out the police could not even arrest them. All of the pensioners had a lot of chronic diseases and conditions, which meant they could not be held in prison.