A sentence has been passed in Kostanay on a woman accused of fraud and embezzlement of citizens' funds. She took possession of a large sum of money belonging to the parents of underage models.
According to the press service of the Supreme Court's courts, the defendant used a bank account opened in the name of an individual entrepreneur to enter into fictitious contracts. She presented herself as an official representative of a Turkish agency and offered residents of Kostanay intermediary services to arrange trips for children for study and participation in competitions.
"At a meeting in the conference hall of one of the business centres in Kostanay, she told the parents of 10 underage models that she was taking on the obligations to purchase airline tickets and book hotels in the city of Cappadocia, Turkey," the statement reads.
Persuading parents to take part in the trip, the woman promised significant discounts on air travel and accommodation if the group departed together.
Misled parents transferred 300 euros (183,576 tenge) per child to the account she specified. As a result, the fraudster took possession of more than 8 million tenge and disappeared.
"At the same time, she had no intention of fulfilling her promises: she did not have a license for tourism activities, was not registered as an individual entrepreneur, was not in an employment relationship with model agencies, and had no authority to represent them," the department noted.
The court of first instance found the defendant guilty and sentenced her to 4 years in prison with a ban on engaging in entrepreneurial activities for 3 years. The civil claims of the victims were satisfied in full.
The defendant tried to appeal this decision, but the Kostanay Regional Court, having considered the appeal, upheld the sentence.