A court in the Moscow region has convicted a woman named Kadeshnikova for committing large-scale fraud after posing as a fortune teller who promised to locate a missing military serviceman.
Judges sentenced Kadeshnikova to one year in a general regime penal colony after finding her guilty of stealing 480,000 rubles from the victim. However, the court released her in the courtroom after factoring in the time she had already spent in pre-trial detention.
According to the press service of the region's courts of general jurisdiction, Kadeshnikova set up an account on a messaging application where she advertised herself as a clairvoyant and fortune teller. She specifically offered services to help families trace individuals who had gone missing during the special military operation in Ukraine.
Through text correspondence, Kadeshnikova persuaded a Russian woman to transfer money that was supposedly intended to fund search efforts for the woman's missing brother. Kadeshnikova took the funds but failed to perform any search activities, deceiving the victim and keeping the full 480,000 rubles for herself.
Legal Framework and Civil Damages
The court convicted Kadeshnikova under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which covers fraud committed on a large scale. In addition to handing down the criminal sentence, the court fully satisfied a civil lawsuit filed by the victim to recover the stolen money.
The Moscow region, also known as Moscow Oblast, is the administrative territory surrounding Russia's capital city. Under Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code, fraud causing significant financial loss to a citizen is classified as a serious offense, carrying penalties up to several years of imprisonment depending on the total damage.
Penal Colony Terms and Custody Credit
General regime penal colonies in the Russian correctional system represent standard security facilities designed for individuals serving initial custodial sentences. Under Russian criminal procedure, time served in pre-trial detention centers counts toward the final sentence, which allowed the court to discharge Kadeshnikova immediately after her verdict was pronounced.
Russia officially designates its armed conflict in Ukraine as a special military operation, a term established at the start of hostilities in February 2022. Official channels exist through the defense ministry and humanitarian organizations for tracking military personnel, though private online solicitations for search assistance have emerged across online messaging platforms.
